Superhuman
by Ramore361
Summary: When Loki steals the Tesseract, Fury doesn't just call in The Avengers to help. Willow owes him a debt in return for her protection over the years, and when she's brought out of solitude and hiding to help SHIELD by joining their team, everything changes. (Includes all Avengers characters)
1. Chapter 1

_''As of right now, we are at war,''_

_''What do we do?''_

Nick Fury sat at his desk looking over a particular file that he didn't think he would have to open again. They already had a team of people more than capable of protecting the world now that the Tesseract was in the hands of a mad man, but Fury knew they would need to take any advantage they could get, and he knew he would need her.

''Sir, do you really think this is a good idea?'' Maria Hill asked as she stood in front of him, her arms folded. ''SHIELD has an agreement with her, by doing this we'd be breaking it,''

''SHIELD doesn't have an agreement with her, _I _do,'' he stood up, holding the file in his hands. ''And I'm standing by my part of that agreement, nothing's being broken, but we have to get to her fast,''

Agent Hill remained silent as Fury walked over to Coulson who was standing off to the side. Coulson had been in charge of getting the group of people they needed together, and Fury knew he could trust him with one more, one that was going to be more difficult than the others and potentially dangerous.

''You up for this, Coulson?'' he asked as he held out the file.

''Yes sir,'' Coulson nodded, taking the file in his hands proudly.

''Good,'' Fury nodded. ''Hope you like Italy,''

* * *

The snow was thick beneath her feet, but it didn't slow her pace or make her journey back any more difficult. She had grown fond of the white flakes falling from the sky and even found comfort in the sight. The little town of Cortina d'Ampezzo was glowing with light from the houses inside and barely illuminated the Dolomite Mountains that surrounded them. It was peaceful here, so peaceful that it almost made her forget how alone she was.

As she continued walking through the snow, the lights in the town began to fade as she made it to her house. It was further away than the others, but it was necessary. Just as the door closed behind her, she knew something was wrong. The lights were off and the rooms were silent, but she knew someone was there, she could feel it.

Coulson looked at the front door as the woman entered and he signaled for the other three agents he was with to back up and stay hidden. If he could take care of the situation on his own, he would. The lights unexpectedly turned on all throughout the house, but the woman was nowhere to be seen. Coulson looked around every room and every corner, but there was no sign of her.

''Check the perimeter, go,'' he ordered the other agents.

In a matter of seconds, Coulson was alone in the house and his gun was pointed in front of him. He knew this woman was dangerous and she was capable on things no one else was, he had to be careful, he didn't know what she had planned.

Suddenly, he felt a hand grasping around his throat as he was backed up and slammed against the living room wall, unable to call out for assistance. He could feel the airflow to his lungs quickly running out and his gasps for air where desperate. Just as the pain became almost unbearable while his arms flailed and tried to defend himself, the woman appeared in front of him just like a hologram in thin air, her hand around his throat the whole time.

''You're with SHIELD,'' she looked down at his badge. ''How the hell did you find me?''

When her hand loosened around his throat, Coulson took a few deep breaths before he could speak.

''I'm here on behalf of Director Nick Fury,'' he told her in a hoarse voice. ''No one's here to hurt you, Willow,''

She let Coulson stand on his own now with no hands on him, and she watched his every move to make sure he wasn't there to do anything to her. Outside, she heard footsteps and the heavy breathing of other agents.

''Tell them to stay outside,'' she looked at Coulson threateningly.

''Check the further perimeter, the house is clear,'' he called out. ''Go!''

Once the other agents were gone, Willow kept her eyes on Coulson firmly and looked over him, trying to analyze his body language. She hadn't encountered someone who knew about her in a long time, she was on edge.

''Like I said, I'm not here to hurt you,'' he repeated, noticing her wary glances.

''Then what do you want?'' she asked. ''Where's Fury?''

''Busy, with an issue we're hoping to get your help on,''

''SHIELD wants my help?'' she asked, almost unbelieving, until something in her mind clicked. ''That son of a bitch,''

''It's my understanding that you and Director Fury have an agreement in which SHIELD can only contact you if your assistance is necessary,''

''And is it?''

''More than you know,''

* * *

Fury sat at his desk and looked over all of the information they had. The Tesseract was in the hands of Loki, a god from a whole other world, Asgard, and they had no idea where he was or what he planned to do with it. The Tesseract had unlimited power, it could destroy the world if it was used improperly, and Fury had a feeling that the man who took it wasn't looking to keep it in storage, he was going to use it on the Earth. SHIELD needed all the help they could get, and that meant assembling a team of people who could be the most dangerous people on Earth or their heroes.

SHIELD knew of people that no one else in the world knew of, and it was their duty to keep those people safe and keep anyone else off their trail. Willow was one of those people, however she also caused the most problems, which is initially why SHIELD had to intervene and Fury managed to make a deal with her. She possessed powers that no one else did and their was no explanation for them. Willow was a product of a dangerous love affair between a human and a man not from this world who possessed similar powers, however SHIELD wasn't aware of just how many powers she had, but for the ones they did know of, they knew she could help them.

''Sir, she's here,'' Agent Hill walked into the room, looking at him cautiously.

Fury nodded and walked out of the room as Hill followed. Willow couldn't be brought in like the others, she couldn't walk in the doors and sit in the room peacefully. She was too dangerous, and until Fury could explain the situation to her and gain her trust on the matter, they lowered the risk by placing her in a clear cell temporarily.

When he reached the room, Coulson was standing outside of the cell, looking over to Fury as he walked closer. None of them liked the fact they had to bring her in like this, but she wouldn't reason with them until she spoke to Fury himself and found out what was going on.

Willow was sitting in the middle of the cell, looking at the ground just in front of her feet as her legs were stretched out. Her skin was almost white with paleness and her lips were a deep red color that made her green eyes stand out as if they were mesmerizing. However, despite her appearance which came off as innocent and fragile, she was the most dangerous person on the helicarrier, even when she was contained in a cell.

''Head back to the bridge,'' Fury looked between Hill and Coulson.

''Sir...'' Hill spoke up cautiously.

''We're good here Agent Hill,'' Fury nodded. ''Back to the bridge,''

''Yes sir,'' Hill nodded, following Coulson out of the room.

Fury walked over to the door of the cell and folded his arms, hoping she would look up. He knew she was aware of his presence, and it made him wonder if she was going to cooperate or if this was a huge, dangerous waste of time.

''I know this was...unexpected,'' he spoke to her. ''But you wouldn't be here if it wasn't necessary, we need your help,''

''Is that why you got your agents to drag me here and throw me in a holding cell?'' Willow spoke up, her eyes still on her feet which were tapping against the floor. ''Not to mention I was restrained the whole way here. But now I get it, you need my help, so I guess all of that's okay,'' she told him sarcastically.

''You know why we had to do that. We had to take precautions...''

''Why? Because I scare you?'' she looked at him, standing up slowly. ''Because I can do this?''

Willow's whole hand began glowing red, causing flames to grow from her skin. One of her numerous skills happened to be pyrokinesis, the ability to create and control fire with her mind, emitting it from her body itself.

''Or this?'' she asked as her body rose from the floor, hovering almost to the ceiling as her body disappeared.

In a matter of seconds, she appeared by the door, right in front of Fury who held back a jolt of surprise.

''Or is it because you don't know what _else _I can do?'' she asked, folding her arms. ''You're scared of me, so explain to me why you would want my help?''

''Because the world you know, the world you've adapted to, might not be around for much longer unless we find and stop the person threatening it,'' he told her seriously. ''We had a deal, Willow,''

''A deal I don't think you've been upholding, otherwise SHIELD wouldn't have known where to find me,'' she reminded him. ''You've been tracking me,''

''For your protection, and you were well aware of that,'' he shook his head. ''I agreed to keep your identity and location unknown to those who wanted to find you and anyone that posed a threat in return for your assistance if we ever needed it, and believe me, there's been plenty of times we've needed someone like you and I haven't called you in. Now, I've upheld my end of this bargain, it's your turn,''

Willow looked at him curiously, noticing how different he seemed to the last time she had seen him. He didn't have the same confidence he usually had, he was worried. She could see it in his eyes, his silent plea for her help as if he needed it more than anything.

''A deal's a deal, but I want to know what was so important you had to bring me in,'' she folded her arms, walking closer to the door. ''And I want out of this cage,''

Fury pulled a device out of his pocket and pulled up an image of the Tesseract, projecting it in front of him to show her. Willow's eyes widened at the blue object and she moved forward to make sure what she was seeing was real.

''Is that...,'' she gasped, still looking at the image.

''You know of it?'' Fury asked curiously.

''Oh yeah, I know of it alright,'' she nodded. ''The Tesseract. But what's SHIELD doing with it, and what's it got to do with anything?''

Fury sighed. ''It's been stolen,''

Willow's eyes immediately left the image and looked over to Fury instead. She had heard of and studied whatever she could about the Tesseract many times in her life, and she knew how important and powerful it was. SHIELD shouldn't have had it, no one should have, and now it was gone.

''It can't be,'' she shook her head. ''Do you _know_ what this thing can do?''

''I'm well aware, which is why your help is necessary,''he told her. ''I take it you're on board,''

Willow looked up at him with her emerald green eyes and nodded her head. She may have had a rather negative opinion on SHIELD and how they worked, but she knew the severity of what was going on, and she would help however she could.

''What do you want me to do?'' she asked, fearing what they had planned.

''Right now, I need to know everything you know about the Tesseract, anything that can help the team track it,'' he told her.

''You have a team on this? Then...why do you need me?''

''Because you're a part of that team now,'' he took a few steps back.

Willow's eyes widened again as she watched him begin to walk out.

''Uh...no I'm not,'' she told him before he was gone. ''You've got the wrong person. I've been by myself my whole life Fury, I don't _do _teams,'' she shook her head. ''Hey! Can you at least get me out of this cell?''

Fury was no longer in sight, but she knew he was walking with a smirk on his face at her protests. Willow let out a groan and walked back around the cell, moving her hand in front of her as tiny flames came off the tips of her fingers as she thought to herself. Something else was going on at SHIELD, and they weren't going to tell her. They just wanted her to find the Tesseract along with whatever team they had lined up, and although she was on board with finding the Tesseract, being a part of any team at all wasn't appealing to her. However, a deal was a deal.

* * *

**Okay so before you guys ask, I'm not giving up on my other story, I'm just really busy lately and haven't had time to fully work on it plus I sort of lost interest for a while there, hence this story being introduced. I've always wanted to write something like this, something different, and in the Avengers movieverse instead of just Iron Man. Plus, I think I'll be focusing kind of on one Avenger in particular and for once it's not Tony. It's nice to write about a different character considering I've done 4 stories about the same people. Not that it bores me at all, but it's nice to have a change. Anyway, I hope you guys like this story and please review with anything you think or want to know. I'm aware there's a few stories about The Avengers and weird alien-like people befriending them, but as always I do try and make my story different and unique, which I hope I maintain. I have so many ideas for this story and I feel like you guys will really enjoy it.**

**Please review!**

**Also, I am working on the new chapter of 'Heroes...'' but you'll probably hear from this story more now, just until I know I can write a good chapter for that story! Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

''You drink coffee, right?''

Willow stared up at the SHIELD agent who had brought her the cup and walked back out of the room. She had been released from the cell once they were sure she wasn't a threat, that she was going to help, however she was only allowed as far as Fury's office at the moment. He needed to know everything she knew about the Tesseract, anything they may have missed or something that would help them find it.

''Does _everyone _here think I'm from another planet or something?'' Willow shook her head at the agent who had left, picking up the cup and sipping at it.

''To be fair, you kind of are,'' Coulson grinned from the other side of the room.

Willow had noticed that Coulson, out of the three agents that had escorted her here from Italy, was the nicest of them all, however she had the feeling he would have done whatever was necessary to get her here. He was obviously one of the most trusted on board the helicarrier and in SHIELD since Fury, the Director, kept him in all the plans and relied on him for the most important tasks.

''Technically, I'm not,'' Willow looked over to him with a grin to prove him wrong. ''I'm human, just like everyone else,''

'Except everyone else can't fly or turn into a ball of fire,'' he quipped.

''True,'' she nodded. ''That and more,''

Coulson tried not to chuckle at her obvious jab at the fact Fury had been asking her all day what other powers she possessed. She wasn't going to tell him or anyone in SHIELD, not because she was being stubborn, but because if she told them what she could do, they would find a way to stop her. SHIELD never told the truth and she knew that, so when they told her she was safe with them, she wasn't going to fully trust them. They were smart people, they'd find a way to strip her of her abilities, and they were the only thing protecting her, she wasn't going to risk it.

''So, when are you guys actually going to start looking for this thing?'' Willow looked over to Fury once he sat down.

''We're working on it,'' he laid out files in front of him. ''Which reminds me, Coulson, shouldn't you be at the bridge waiting?''

Willow looked over to Coulson who had a smile on his face as if he was going to meet someone important or something exciting was about to happen, which confused her given what they were dealing with.

''Yes sir,'' he nodded before leaving silently.

''Now,'' Fury folded his arms. ''Mind telling me how you know about the Tesseract?''

Willow rolled her eyes at his question.

''Really? You all consider me a crazy alien but you haven't tied together the fact that the Tesseract is _not _from his world and neither am I?'' she told him as if they were mad to overlook it. ''I know everything about it, but I doubt I know anything that you don't. I've never seen it in person, only pictures and legends,''

Fury sighed. He was hoping to get new information, however it seemed SHIELD knew more about it than she did since they had been doing tests and studying it for a while now before it was stolen from their facility. It didn't matter though, Willow had the knowledge, which meant she knew just how important it was that it was found, and that's all that mattered to Fury.

''Sir, Rogers and Banner are here with Romanoff,''

Both Fury and Willow looked up at the man at the door, another agent, informing the Director of their newest members to the helicarrier. The team was assembling, and Fury had to make sure they understood what they were getting into. With Banner on board, there was another risk, which meant both of the containment cells would be in use with Willow here as well. Fury still wasn't sure just how much they could trust her, but right now he had to get to the bridge.

''We'll continue this conversation when I get back,'' he told her as he walked out. ''I trust you can wait here on your own?''

''Sure,'' she shrugged, crossing her legs as she leaned back in the chair.

Once Fury was out of the room, Willow looked around the corner to see if he was actually gone. They didn't trust her enough to go with Fury to the bridge and they didn't trust her enough to be able to at least leave his office. She didn't understand why they were all so unsure about her. It might have been the fact they didn't know exactly what she could do, or it might have been the fact that the first time Fury met Willow she almost set his vehicle on fire and held him above it. They were darker times for her back then, she wasn't like that now, but there was still that streak of badness that wasn't going to go away, and with a smirk on her lips, her body disappeared as if weren't there, and she made her way down the corridor where Fury was headed.

* * *

Walking into the bridge, Willow was slightly overwhelmed by how many people were actually on this ship. There were controllers all throughout the room, tracking people and maintaining flight after they had left the water below. It was nice being in a room where no one could see her, it was a change to all the stares she always received.

''Sir, we're at lock,'' Maria Hill called out to the Director who was standing in the middle of the room.

''Good, let's disappear,'' Fury turned around to face the corridor leading to the bridge, walking toward it. ''Gentlemen,'' he greeted.

Two men and a women with fiery red hair walked into the room following each other, looking around as if they were just as confused as Willow to what was going on. One of the men had blonde hair and wore a brown leather jacket, looking around the room with deep interest as if he was wondering what everything was. The woman with the red hair walked around like she owned the place, looking over computers and asking people questions about someone named Barton, and Willow wondered if he was a part of finding the Tesseract as well and where he was. The other man stood off to the side looking around silently, standing back as people walked past him. Willow noticed how out of place he looked, and then Fury walked over to him.

''Doctor, thank you for coming,'' he greeted.

''Thanks for asking nicely,'' the man responded in a quiet voice. ''So uh, how long am I staying?''

''Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the clear,'' Fury told him.

Willow then put the pieces together. This was the team Fury was assembling, the team he wanted her to be part of and help find the Tesseract. She wondered why Fury didn't ask her to join him since she would eventually have to meet them, but right now she was just wondering what each of roles were. Willow didn't even know her role yet, she didn't know how she help apart from physical and stealth aspects.

''Where are you with that?'' the man asked.

''We're sweeping every wireless accessible camera on the planet. Cell phones, lap tops. If it's connected to the satellite, it's eyes and ears for us,'' Coulson informed the man from where he was standing, overlooking the screens.

''That's still not gonna find them in time,'' the woman spoke up, looking over at them.

''You have to narrow the field,'' the man offered. ''How many spectrometers do you have access to?''

''How many are there?'' Fury asked.

''Call every lab you know, tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm based on cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places. Do you have somewhere for me to work?''

Willow stared with wide eyes at the man's intelligence. He seemed to be the only one on board this ship that she had met so far who was taking action on what was going on. Now she understood why Fury called him in.

''Agent Romanoff, would you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory please,''

The woman with the bright red hair nodded and walked over to Dr. Banner, walking for him to follow her into the corridor.

''You're gonna love it, doc, we got all the toys,''

Willow watched as the two walked out of the room, wondering where they were going considering she had no idea what else was on board this ship. The other man stayed where he was, looking around the computers and the people on the bridge, his arms folded as if he was focusing on whatever was going on. When Willow looked up once again, Fury was walking down the corridor back to his office, which made her run ahead of him quietly to get back in time.

''What took you so long?'' she asked casually as she sat in the chair as if she never left.

''Few visitors showed up, hoping to find the Tesseract,'' he told her casually before sitting back down.

''Uh huh,'' she nodded. ''So, not that this isn't fun or anything, but what do you want from me? Other than sitting here chatting,''

Fury glared up at her for a moment, frustrated at her impatience.

''We haven't got any leads yet,'' he told her. ''But as soon as we do, we'll need your help,''

''With what? Because you know I hung up that whole fighting thing a long time ago,''

''We all hung up a lot before this came along. This man is dangerous, not only to the country but to the world, to the entire universe,'' he told her seriously. ''If we need your help...''

Willow knew who Loki was, she had heard legends and myths just like everyone else had, and she knew how powerful he was. Then it all made sense to her, she saw what they wanted with her if they found any leads.

''I get it,'' she nodded. ''Fight fire with fire, right?''

''What are you getting at?''

''Loki, he possesses magic, powerful magic,'' she reminded him. ''And so do I. You don't want me to find the Tesseract, do you? You want me to stop Loki,''

Fury looked down at his desk for a moment and let out a long, exhausted sigh. They did need her help, but they had been so closed off about what they need her help with, and now she had worked it out on her own. Fury didn't know what to say to her. They did need her to use her abilities to their advantage when it came to Loki, but they also wanted her help finding the Tesseract.

''You're the only one who could,'' he told her as he looked back up. ''You have the advantages he doesn't, and by stopping him we can find the Tesseract. We do want your help finding the cube, but we need to take each obstacle as they come, and we won't be able to get near the Tesseract unless Loki is out of the picture,''

Willow didn't want to help him when he lied to her, but she understood how big of a threat Loki was. She always knew that sooner or later she would have to work with SHIELD, she knew Fury would take up his end of their agreement, but he was still lying to her.

''I don't like being lied to,'' she shook her head. ''I've done nothing to SHIELD, I've done nothing to any of you and you still can't tell me the truth. What were you gonna do? Throw me out into the middle of a fight and make me defend myself to the point of stopping him?''

''It was never going to be like that,'' Fury told her, shaking his head.

''You could have asked me. I'm a _person_, so treat me like one,'' _  
_

Fury looked over to Willow apologetically before they were interrupted by Coulson at the door. He looked more serious now, his eyes didn't have any humor in them, and he looked to the Director as an agent, not a friend.

''Sir, they've got a match,'' Coulson told him.

Fury stood up from his seat.

''Are you sure?''

''Positive sir, he's in Germany,''

''Get Rogers on it,''

''He's preparing now, the jet's ready to go,''

There was a brief pause in the room as Coulson looked over to Willow and then back at Fury as if he was asking a question. After their conversation, Fury didn't exactly plan on asking her to go since he assumed she was against the idea entirely. Willow had done this before, it wasn't as if she was scared or intimidated by the thought of having to face Loki, she just never thought she would have to do anything like this again after working so hard to contain everything. It surprised Fury when she stood up, looking back at the two men.

''When do we leave?''

* * *

**Well I hope you guys are enjoying this story, I've got so many ideas for it! Please review and let me know what you all think! Thanks for reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

Willow walked out of one of the many rooms on the helicarrier wearing a black, skintight body suit that the shield combat agents wore, very similar to Natasha Romanoff's who was waiting outside for her. She had given Willow the clothing for her protection since it was tough material made for this sort of thing, however she didn't know how well it was going to hold up.

''Are you sure that won't...burn?'' Natasha asked.

''No, it'll be fine,'' she told her with a nod, but when Natasha looked back at her unsure, she explained. ''I can project heat, but I can also shield it. As in, if you were on fire, I could shield you from it, but only through contact,''

Natasha nodded her head, impressed with her abilities but also very confused. When Natasha first heard Willow was being brought in to help, she certainly didn't think she would be so up board with everything considering she had spent a long time avoiding SHIELD, but she seemed just as committed as everyone else. Natasha had seen many odd things while working with SHIELD, and although Willow was something completely different and more extreme than she had seen before, it didn't exactly surprise her or intimidate her.

They made it to the jet not long after, Natasha walking straight to the pilot's seat and sitting next to her co-pilot who seemed to be mapping out coordinates. Willow stood in the back of the jet looking around at everything inside, wondering what each piece of equipment did. Fury had made her instructions very clear before she left his office. She was to assist in anyway she could, and that was what was she going to do. She had the stealth that the rest of them didn't, and she had to use whatever powers she had to her advantage.

''Ma'am,''

Willow turned around to see a man walking into the jet where she was as the doors closed behind him. It was the same man she'd seen in the bridge earlier that day, but of course no one had seen her there. She knew his name now after Fury had told her he'd be joining them, and she was glad since everyone else here seemed to treat him like a legend.

''Captain,'' she nodded.

It was quiet between the two of them as the jet took off. Willow didn't know how to start a conversation with him since she had no idea who he was and Steve had no idea how to talk to her since he had looked over her profile and been warned about who she was. However she didn't seem like the dangerous alien everyone had been describing. and he wasn't one to judge off other people's perceptions.

''So,'' Steve began, wondering how to word what he was going to say to her. ''I've heard a lot about you,''

''Then you're very brave to talk to me,'' Willow smiled. ''I've heard what gets said about me,''

''Everyone has a past, it's what you do now that matters to me,'' Steve told her with a smile in return. ''I've never met anything...uh, anyone, like you,'' he fumbled, looking over to see her looking down with a disappointed look on her face. ''Sorry,''

''It's fine,'' she shrugged. ''I guess I am kind of weird, I mean, they call me the alien around here so I guess that says it all,''

Steve saw the sadness in her expression as she spoke. He had heard what everyone said about her, about how she was a freak, an alien from another world who could do all of these crazy things, who was magic, but he hadn't heard anything nice about her yet. No one took the time to notice she wasn't an alien monster, she was just like everyone else.

''Hey, I've been asleep for over 70 years, I don't understand anything in the world right now. I'm more of an alien to this place than you are, trust me,'' he joked.

Willow looked over to him with a grin before letting out a light chuckle at his words.

''I wouldn't be so sure,''

The two remained in silence for a while as they got comfortable for their journey. Steve took one of the seats and Willow sat on the floor, leaning back onto the wall. Her black hair swept across her shoulders as she pushed it back, stretching her arms out. Steve was dressed in his red, blue and white uniform, ready for whatever they were about to deal with. Fury had told Willow about Steve, at least the important things, and she respected the man for working with SHIELD after everything that had happened. However, he was a soldier, he was just doing his job. She liked that he wasn't like the others she had met. He didn't ask her how she was able to do everything, where she came from or what she was, he just accepted that she was willing to help and that was it.

Hours later, Natasha looked back at the two of them and warned they they were getting close to where Loki had been spotted in Germany. There was an event on and there were people everywhere, they had to be careful.

''You sure about this?'' Steve asked as Willow walked to the back of the jet with him.

''Positive,'' she nodded. ''I'm your advantage, remember,''

''You could still get hurt,''

''I appreciate the concern, but I don't bruise easily, I'll be fine,'' she nodded, assuring him she knew what she was getting herself into.

Natasha lowered the jet just far enough from the city area for Steve and Willow to get out and prepare, and then she flew over the buildings in search of the man who had stolen the Tesseract. They weren't sure what he was doing here in plain sight, but the questions were for later, right now they needed to capture him.

Steve and Willow made their way into the city streets and saw the crowd of people being drawn outside but Loki himself. He screamed at them, ordering their mercy and for them to kneel before him. He was trying to take over, and they watched on carefully to make sure no one was going to get hurt if they intervened.

''I need you to get around him and see who else was working with him,'' Steve told Willow quietly. ''I can handle him,''

''Okay,'' Willow nodded.

Within a second, Willow's body began to disappear much to Steve's shock, and then she was gone. It was easy being able to disguise herself, to become invisible and walk without the threat of anyone seeing her. She managed to get past everyone and Loki himself to run around behind the building he walked out of, searching for the team SHIELD knew he had working for him. A man named Clint Barton had been taken, possessed by some sort of spell that Loki's scepter had enforced. Barton was an agent at SHIELD, and Willow had to see if he was here.

''Is not this simpler?'' Loki asked the group of citizens in front of him. ''Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel,''

Steve watched as a man stood up in the middle of the crowd, looking back at Loki.

''Not to men like you,'' the elderly man shook his head.

Loki laughed. ''There are no men like me,''

''There are always men like you,''

Loki chuckled once more before lifting the scepter to point right towards the man, ready to kill him in front of everyone.

''Look to you elder, people. Let him be an example,''

The scepter glowed with power as Loki used it, a beam of energy shooting out towards the old man, but just before it hit him, Steve jumped out in front of him and put up his shield, blocking it and saving the man.

''You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing,'' Steve spoke.

''The soldier,'' Loki smirked. ''A man out of time,''

''I'm not the one who's out of time,''

Loki looked up to see the jet flying overhead, guns facing him threateningly.

''Loki, drop the weapon and stand down!'' Natasha's voice came over the P.A system.

Loki was going to surrender just yet, and he lifted the scepter to shoot out toward the jet, closely missing it thanks to Natasha's pilot skills. Steve knew he was in for a fight now, and he threw his shield at Loki, gaining enough time to make his way over and try to contain him. Loki fought back with his scepter as Steve used his combat skills to help put up a fight, but it was clear they were both strong and Steve knew he had to get the scepter out of Loki's hands.

Behind the building, there was nothing. No group of brainwashed agents and no Clint Barton. Disappointed, Willow ran back to the street to find most of the people gone and screaming as they ran by her. It only took a few seconds to get close enough to see Steve and Loki fighting, and she didn't know what to do. She was unsure if Fury wanted her to intervene and she didn't know if Steve had it covered, but she wasn't going to stand back and let Loki win when they were so close to capturing him and one step closer to finding the Tesseract.

Loki pushed Steve to the group and put the scepter to his head threateningly and he growled.

''Kneel,''

Steve took a deep breath before pushing away from the ground, kicking Loki back as he gained his stance again.

''Not today!''

Willow was behind Loki and Steve could see her getting closer, and although he didn't want her to get hurt because he was unable to fight back against the god, he knew he needed help and they were working as a team after all. Steve stood back as Willow disappeared once again, and the next moment Loki had fallen onto his back as Willow kicked his legs from beneath him. He had quick reflexes and jumped back up again, wondering what was going on since he saw no one else around, but then again he was kicked to the ground and the scepter was tossed away from him, Steve guarding it as Willow fought.

Loki didn't know what was going on, but he knew something was there and he began throwing his arms out until he felt a body. Willow kept dodging his attacks, easily managing to get behind him and wrap her arms around his neck to push him to the ground. As Loki began to fall back, he reached his arms up, gritting through his teeth as her strength proved to be a match for him, and put his hands around her arms, flipping her over in front of him. Upon the force of being thrown into the hard ground, Willow's body appeared in front of him.

''Fool!" he growled as he put his hands around her throat.

Willow wrapped her hands around his and watched as his eyes grew wide with shock and pain. Her hands were glowing red as flames crackled against his skin and his hands soon let go of her throat.

''Fool,'' she repeated as she held his throat instead, watching as he fell back onto his knees.

Just as Steve began walking over to her, they all looked up into the sky as they heard the blaring of music. A red suit was flying through the air, smashing into the ground beside them. It was in the shape of a man, and his arms were pointed towards Loki, making sure he stayed where he was.

''Make your move reindeer games,'' the man told him before Loki raised his hands in surrender. ''Good move,''

Willow stood back next to Steve, looking at the man in the suit and wondering who he was.

''Mr. Stark,'' Steve nodded.

''Captain,'' the man greeted in return. ''And uh...lady...I think. Did you really just do that or should I have not had that drink before I left? No wait, you're what Fury was telling me about, right?''

Willow sighed. She didn't particularly like that man and the way he pointed things out so obviously, it only made it that much more clearer to herself that she would only be viewed as a freak, even when she was trying to help. They all watched her as she avoided eye contact and turned to walk back to the jet not far away, feeling their stares before her body disappeared gradually before their eyes. If all they were going to see her as was a freak, she wasn't going to pretend anymore.

* * *

**I hope you're still liking the story, I'm thinking the next chapter will be better. The only problem I'm having with this story is I have so many idea I don't know how to fit them all in, so I guess that's a good thing. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review with what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

On the jet once again, Willow took her same position on the floor and leaned back against the wall, glad everything happened to be so easy. The man in the metal suit happened to be Tony Stark, a man who was a part of the team Fury had assembled, and he was on the jet as well as he got a ride back. Both Tony and Steve looked over to Loki who was sitting on the seat across from Willow, staring at him cautiously.

''I don't like it,'' Steve shook his head.

''What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily?'' Tony looked to him.

''I don't remember it being that easy. That guy packs a wallop,''

''Still, you are pretty spry for an older fellow,'' Tony jabbed. ''What's your thing? Pilates?''

''What?'' Steve asked, confused as to what he was talking about.

''It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple things, you know, doing time as a Capsicle,''

Steve looked at the man with a glare.

''Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in,''

''Yeah, there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you,'' Tony commented.

Willow looked up at him, wondering what his experience with SHIELD was like since he clearly had his opinion on Fury and how he worked. It was true, Fury never told anyone what was really going on, but she didn't know that other people felt the same way about that as she did. The jet filled with silence for a moment as Willow looked over to Loki. He was staring at her hands and she looked down to notice she was absentmindedly twirling a flame in between her fingers, and she immediately stopped, looking up at him as he smirked in response.

''So what's her deal?'' Tony turned to Steve with a lower voice.

''Deal?''

''She doesn't talk much,''

''Given the way you greeted her is that really a surprise?'' Steve shook his head.

''Hey I've never dealt with anyone like that before,''

''I can see why,''

A few moments later the jet began shaking as thunder roared. Lightning struck in the sky and everyone looked toward the front of the jet where Natasha looked just as confused since it was supposed to be clear skies.

''Where's this coming from?'' she wondered out loud, looking on the satellite.

Steve looked over to Loki and noticed he was staring out the window of the jet and looking up as best he could with a worried expression.

''What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning?'' he asked.

''I'm not overly fond of what follows,'' Loki told him as he continued staring up.

They all looked back at each other in confusion as the thunder continued. Then, the whole jet rattled as if it had been hit by a massive bolder on the roof, and Willow jumped up from her sitting position, looking at Loki and wondering if he was aware of what was going on. Tony lifted the helmet of his metal suit onto his head, locking it in place before he opened the back of the jet. Someone was out there, and it was clear they were interested in what was inside.

They all stared at the back of the jet as it lowered and then a man unexpectedly jumped onto the open ramp. Willow knew who it was as soon as he appeared, she had heard the stories about the brothers, Loki and Thor. The man was dressed in what appeared to be warrior clothing as if he was about to go into battle, and a large red cape flowed over his back.

Tony stepped forward to defend them, but Thor easily knocked him back into the jet, taking down Willow as well as he flung to the ground. Steve was left dumbstruck as the man walked into the jet and grabbed Loki by the throat angrily before pulling from the seat and jumping back out of the jet. Everything happened so fast, no one knew what to do or think.

''Who was that guy?'' Tony asked as he helped Willow up and walked to the back of the jet.

''Another Asgardian?'' Natasha called out.

''Think that guy's friendly?'' Steve asked.

''Doesn't matter, if that guy frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost,'' Tony told him as he prepared to jump out the back of the jet.

Willow stood back trying to process everything that just happened. She hadn't said a word this whole time, but she wasn't going to stand back as their only chance at getting the cube back was taken away from them.

''Stark! We need a plan of attack!'' Steve called out.

''I have a plan. Attack,''

Tony jumped out the back of the jet in his suit and went in search of the men. Steve shook his head and grabbed a parachute from the side of the jet and began to strap it onto his back.

''I'd sit this one out Cap,'' Natasha warned.

''I don't see how I can,'' Steve called back.

Willow walked to the back of the jet with him, walking further to the end of the ramp. She could easily help them out, and Fury had told her to do whatever was necessary, and that's what she was going to do.

''Hey!'' Steve walked back her, pulling her back. ''Are you nuts?''

''I'm not letting that guy get away,'' she shook her head. ''I'll meet you down there,''

''You haven't even got a chute!''

''Don't need one,'' Willow told him casually as she stepped off the back ramp.

Steve ran over to look down below the jet, but he didn't see Willow falling, she was soaring through the sky and dodging the trees as she followed behind Tony, trying to find where they were. He pulled the straps of the parachute secure around him before he grabbed his shield, jumping out of the jet and falling down through the sky as well.

The darkness of the night made it difficult to see where any of them had gone, but it wouldn't be too difficult once she got through the thick terrain of trees that surrounded her. She rarely chose to use her powers for flight, it was too obvious and usually caused her trouble, but right now that didn't matter. She didn't have to be afraid of SHIELD finding her, this time she was helping them.

Thor landed on the side of a mountain, throwing Loki to the ground chuckling to himself at his brother's serious expression. Loki knew Thor was here to take him back to Asgard, to save the day as he always did by cleaning up Loki's mess he had made. However Loki wasn't going back, he was going to rule just as he was born to do, and he wasn't going to give in.

''Where is the Tesseract?'' Thor asked angrily.

''I missed you too,'' Loki laughed, pulling himself up.

''Do I look to be in a gaming mood?'' Thor raised his voice at his brother.

Their voices served to be a convenient tool in finding them in the mountainside, and Willow remained invisible as she softly landed her feet right behind Thor. She could easily hold him off long enough for Tony to find them, take Loki and find out what Thor wanted, but as soon as she got close enough to them, she realized she was in the middle of a rather heated conversation, and she couldn't help wondering what was going on.

''Oh, you should thank me. With the Bifrost gone how much dark energy did the Allfather have to muster to conjure you here? Your precious Earth,''

Thor put his hand around Loki's neck as he stood up, looking at him intensely.

''I thought you dead,'' he told his brother with a genuine sadness in his eyes as he remembered.

''Did you mourn?''

''We all did. Our father-''

''_Your _father,'' Loki cut him off, pushing away from Thor and walking away. ''He did tell you my true father, did he not?''

Thor followed him as his brother walked away, trying to reason with him about their family issues. Loki wasn't his brother my blood, but they were still brothers in Thor's eyes.

''We were raised together, we played together, we fought together. Do you remember none of that?''

''I remember a shadow,'' Loki turned around, facing his brother. ''Living in the shadow of your greatness. I remember you tossing me into an abyss. I was, and should be, king!''

''So you take the world I love as recompense for your imagined slights?'' Thor demanded. ''No, the Earth is under my protection Loki,''

Loki chuckled loudly at his brother.

''And you're doing a _marvelous _job with that. The humans slaughter each other in droves as you ideally threat. I mean to rule them. And why should I not?''

Willow was understanding more and more about Loki as she watched them. He wasn't here to collect the Tesseract and take it, he wasn't going to steal it, he was going to use it against the world she lived in, the world she had tried so hard to fit in to. She wouldn't allow it. Although she wasn't like everyone else, the Earth was hers as well, and she was going to protect it from him as if she was anyone else.

''You think yourself above them?''

''Well, yes,''

''Then you miss the truth of ruling brother, the throne would suit you ill,''

Loki shoved his brother back as he walked back up the mountainside.

''I've seen worlds you've never known about! I have grown, Odinson, in my exile! I have seen the true power of the Tesseract, and when I wield it-''

''Who showed you this power?'' Thor yelled. ''Who controls the would-be-king?''

''I am a king!'' Loki screamed.

''Not here!'' Thor raised his voice in return, grabbing his brother. ''You give up the Tesseract! You give up this poisonous dream! You come home,''

Willow couldn't help feeling guilty that she was standing by listening to their confrontation without them even knowing. It was a private moment, and she could see the amount of pain that was in Thor's eyes as he watched his brother behave this way, but Loki was infatuated by power.

Loki shook his head and began to chuckle slightly.

''I don't have it,'' he told his brother simply. ''You need the cube to bring me home, but I've sent it off I know not where,''

Thor stared back angrily.

''Listen well brother-''

Before he could say any more, Thor was knocked off the mountainside and thrown into the surrounding trees as Tony finally found them. He still have no idea Willow was there, but he easily got Thor away from Loki. Willow watched on nervously as she knew Thor wasn't an enemy, but then she turned back to Loki who was still looking at where his brother was previously standing, answering him jokingly.

Willow knew this was the time Loki would try to get away. For all he knew, no one was there, but Willow wasn't going to let him get away. Loki meant to bring down Earth, to rule it and use the Tesseract against it because he thought nothing of the people who lived on it, however Willow was one of those people and she didn't care how much the others disowned her or only viewed her as a freak, she wasn't going to let that happen.

Loki turned to watch his brother being thrown at the trees by a man in a metal suit, smirking as he turned back to look over to the other side of the mountain before he felt a hand tightening around his neck, and he was surprised by how strong it was. He knew who it was immediately, remembering only hours ago the same thing happening.

''I do not wish to flee,'' he told her.

Slowly, Willow's body began to appear in front of him as she held his around the throat with a firm grip. Loki had a smirk on his lips as he appeared to usually have, however Willow just glared at him.

''Good choice,''

* * *

**This is a shorter chapter but I have idea for the next one I didn't want to start in this one. Anyway, hope you're enjoying the story. For those wondering, I'm still planning to continue my other story 'Heroes...'' but I've hit a bit of a brick wall with it and I needed some time, I'll start writing a new chapter for it soon! Thanks for reading and please review! Also if there are any ideas you could pitch to me or anything in particular you'd like to see in this story, let me know via review or PM, I'm open to suggestions!**


	5. Chapter 5

Loki chuckled as Willow held her hand around his throat firmly, and he was only encouraging her as her fingers began to glow red. His smile slowly faded and he stopped chuckling as he realized what she was doing and that she wasn't in the mood for his behavior, just like Thor. Loki wasn't threatened by many people or creatures, but Willow possessed magic more powerful than he did, and he wasn't going to provoke her.

''Don't move,'' she told him before looking up at the sky, trying to find the jet.

Natasha had mentioned she would circle the skies until they found Loki and the other man, but it was too soon for her to fly back yet. The sounds from across from her were so loud it caused her to turn around and see if anyone was actually hurt. Tony and Thor were arguing about Loki, and they were both getting on each others nerves. She didn't feel the need to go help Tony out, not because he happened to be someone she didn't particularly like, but because she knew Thor wasn't a threat. He was angry, but he had a right to be. Thor had his hammer that happened to be magical itself, and it threw Tony backwards into tree and further into the woods until Willow couldn't see them anymore. They'd sort it out, but right now she needed to wait where she was for the jet to come back.

Every now and then Willow would look at Loki as he sat on the ground next to her and saw him looking back at her. She knew he was waiting for her to say something to fuel his words. He was manipulating and Willow didn't want to be influenced in any way.

''Why do you waste your time with these fools?'' he asked, obviously trying to get some sort of response from her, but she remained silent. ''You're obviously nothing like any of them,''

''It wouldn't make sense to someone like you,'' she finally told him.

Loki chuckled loudly.

''You are more like me than any of these humans, may I remind you,''

Willow didn't want to converse with him anymore, she could already see what he was trying to do. He was trying to make her feel like an outcast, like she didn't belong here with everyone else because she was different. Within a second, Willow's body was gone once again, invisible beside him without even moving. She might not have been able to leave considering he could easily get away from them, but she could at least pretend she wasn't there.

''You cannot fool me,'' he shook his head. ''It's entertaining to see how desperately you try to appear as if you're one of them,''

Willow ignored all of his words, knowing that he was only trying to provoke a response. She hated that he thought he knew her, that he thought she was trying so hard to fit into a world that she didn't belong in and especially that he compared her to himself. Willow was nothing like him at all. She didn't view the Earth as something that needed to be ruled or taken over, she didn't view herself above them or superior at all and she didn't use her magic or abilities the way he did.

There were more loud noises from the woods and Willow couldn't even see Tony or Thor anymore, but their fighting was loud. She wanted to go help and sort things out, because their fighting certainly wasn't helping the situation, but she feared if she walked away, Loki wouldn't be here when they returned and this whole journey would have been for nothing.

After standing on the hill for another ten minutes, Willow looked over to see Steve walking towards them, followed by Tony and Thor who seemed rather frustrated with one another. Willow immediately became visible again beside Loki as she took a few steps away from him now that she knew there was no way for him to make an escape.

''You guys done?'' she asked, looking over to them, especially Tony who had started the fight in the first place.

Steve responded for them with a nod of his head, looking between the two men behind him as if to warn them that arguing or fighting right now wasn't a good idea.

''Let's get out of here,''

* * *

The rest of the ride back to the helicarrier was in complete silence. Once they all boarded, they took their seats and positions as they were before, however now there was another passenger as Thor stood by the back of the jet. Willow remained standing as well, leaning her back against the wall behind her as she looked around the jet, hoping not to run into any more unexpected visitors or situations. It wasn't until they got close to the city that Tony parted with the group, apparently needing to repair his suit after his run in with Thor. Willow didn't know if they'd see him again since she wasn't even aware he was going to show up, but she knew it wouldn't bother her the slightest if they never met again.

Once the jet was back on the helicarrier, the ramp at the back opened up and there was a group of SHIELD soldiers standing outside with weapons who soon marched on board and escorted Loki outside and into wherever SHIELD wanted him. Willow watched as he walked with a smirk on his face as if he was pleased with how things were going even thought he was facing indefinite defeat now he was captured.

''No injuries?'' Steve spoke as he walked next to her.

''No, I'm fine,'' she shook her head. ''You okay?''

''I'll be better once Loki gives up the Tesseract,''

''Yeah, well I wouldn't expect that to happen easily,'' she remarked. ''I don't think he cares about being punished, he won't tell where it's at,''

''He won't have a choice,''

Thor frowned as he walked behind them beside Natasha who was guiding him into the building. He was ashamed of his brother's actions and that he had once again brought destruction and trouble to Earth, but he didn't know how SHIELD was going to handle Loki either. He was a trickster, he wasn't going to comply with their instructions or cooperate with their requests. However, Thor hoped that he could help somehow by being here and offering whatever he could to assist in finding the Tesseract.

Once they were all in the conference room in the bridge, Natasha walked straight over to a computer and looked at the progress SHIELD had made in finding Agent Barton, but so far there was nothing new. They suspected he would have been in Germany where Loki had attacked the man inside the building, gruesomely extracting an eyeball to gain access to a locked section of the building, but as Willow found out herself, there was no one else in sight.

Within a matter of seconds, everyone scattered. Natasha was monitoring the computers, Steve went in search of Fury and Thor had to speak with Coulson and a few agents, convincing them he was here only to help, not to fight against them. It was the first time since she had been on the helicarrier that she wasn't being monitored. Fury was nowhere around and there no agents having to stand near her and no one seemed like they needed her just now, so she took off down the corridor to see what else was hidden inside the rooms.

When two agents rounded the corner, Willow couldn't help making herself invisible to them out of habit. Although she was supposed to be part of the team on this helicarrier, she couldn't help always feeling as though she wasn't supposed to be there. She continued down the corridor, passing numerous rooms with files and equipment inside, but the room that took her attention enough to stop her was one of the labs she peeked into. It was the only one that looked like it was being used. There were computers set up and hologram information all around the room. She didn't know why it interested her so much, but she wanted to know what it all was.

Willow rounded the corner and made her way into the room, reading over the information of the screen as she passed. They were measuring gamma radiation signals everywhere, and she soon realized it was to track the Tesseract. It was amazing, the amount of data being collected and the amount of different ways it was being conducted. She wandered around the room some more, looking over the various notes that were written everywhere and the amount of technology that was being used. She never really had a chance to appreciate the technology and how advanced things were in the world considering she spent most of her time isolating herself from it. It was fascinating.

''Can I help you?''

Willow turned around quickly, forgetting she was visible, and stared over to the man behind her. He was the same man she had seen in the bridge when they had all been brought in the day before. His name was Dr. Banner, and she soon realized that this must have been the lab he was working in.

''Uh, no, I was just...admiring your work,'' she gestured toward the computers. ''I didn't touch anything,''

''It's okay,'' he smiled, continuing over to his desk and putting information into the table he was monitoring. ''I'm guessing you're Willow,''

''That'd be me,'' she sighed. ''I guess everyone spreads the word about me around here,''

''That makes two of us,'' he commented, looking over to her for a moment before going back to work silently.

Willow had heard about Bruce and what he could do, but she couldn't someone like him who seemed completely tame and gentle could be responsible for the things she'd heard people talking about. They called it the Hulk, but Willow couldn't see any resemblance of the creature in Bruce. He too had heard about her and everything she was capable of, but he couldn't see yet why everyone seemed cautious around her. He could relate to the rejection and isolation felt around here, especially when everyone moved around them in fear of what they could do or become.

''How do you do all of this?'' Willow asked as she stared at the computer screen in front of her.

''It's really not as complicated as it looks,'' he chuckled at her confusion. ''The satellite picks up the information I'm searching for and condenses it into data and tables for me and then I just put them into systems to pick up traces of gamma and activity and then I can see wherever it's being used,''

Willow looked over to him with wide eyes at his explanation. It might not have been complicated to a genius who knew exactly what he was doing, but to someone like her, it was crazy that someone could do all of that, especially by themselves. She continued looking, moving on to gaze at another screen, reading over all the information and watching the flashing red signal that moved over the world map, showing where the data was coming from. She looked over to his desk briefly and noticed he was watching her, probably waiting for her to leave the room she he could carry on.

''Sorry, I'll let you get back to whatever you're doing,'' she took a few steps back.

''No it's fine,'' he shook his head. ''I don't mind,''

Upon his words, Willow stayed and looked around the room some more. As he watched her walking around and gazing, Bruce could see she was genuinely intrigued by all of the work in the room and the technology. It was hard to believe she was the person he had been told about, who could cover herself in flames in a second and become completely invisible to anyone, but he knew based on personal experience to never assume things just on how they appeared.

''So you're in the whole team thing that Fury's set up?'' she asked him, folding her arms as she looked out the window of the lab and out into the clear sky.

''Yeah, I guess so,'' he nodded. ''Although this lab is as far as my help goes,''

''Why's that?'' she asked curiously.

Bruce looked at her for a moment, knowing the question was asked innocently and not to provoke anything. He wasn't used to be people being comfortable around him and asking questions, he had to remind himself that she was actually being sincere.

''I just prefer the non-physical aspect of helping out,'' he told her. ''I don't like that part,''

Willow nodded her head in understanding, although she couldn't help being a little confused. She thought the Hulk was a weapon that he used, and she wasn't sure why he didn't want to use it. Perhaps it was straining, or maybe, just like her, SHIELD had thought of his ability as a weapon, but he saw it as a curse.

* * *

**I hope you guys are still enjoying the story. I'm going to stray off the movie timeline from now on. I know in The Avengers, things happened within like two or three days, but in my story it will go on for a lot longer, I just hope you guys can envision that happening, I'm going to write it as best I can. It's just that I have a lot of ideas and I want them to have the proper time to develop and I don't want to rush anything. Also, with my stories, I've found I stick to the timeline pretty much all the time, so for this story I'd like to prolong it a lot more and write in my ideas. So, if anything seems weird or it's just not working for you, let me know. Thanks for reading and please review, I really want to know what you guys think and I love hearing from you all. **


	6. Chapter 6

For the first time, the team that Fury had set up were all knowingly in the room together. They sat in the briefing room watching as they witnessed a live feed of Fury addressing Loki. They needed to make sure they picked up on anything that was out of the ordinary, however that was mostly Natasha's ares of expertise.

Loki had been taken to the same room where Willow was first brought to when she came aboard the helicarrier. It was a glass cage, almost like an observation tank in a zoo, but it was a lot more sturdy than just glass. It was a special contraption that SHIELD had made for the ship to deal with particular people and possibilities. It Loki tried to escape or hit against the glass, the cage would drop from the floor of the helicarrier and fall down to the ground. It was to protect everyone on board, and it was also to intimidate whoever was inside.

''Thirty thousand feet, straight down in a steel trap, you get how that works?'' Fury looked at Loki.

''It's an impressive cage,'' Loki chuckled. ''Not built, I think, for me,''

''Built for something a lot stronger than you,''

''Oh, I've heard,'' he smirked, looking at the cameras in the detention cell.

Everyone knew who he was talking about, even Willow and Thor who didn't know as much as everyone else, but they knew enough. Bruce folded his arm and continued looking at the monitor as if it didn't bother him. He knew what Loki was trying to do.

''The mindless beast, makes play he's a still a man,'' Loki chuckled, knowing the others would be watching. ''And a creature who's unlike any other, powers unlimited and unknown, not fit for this world,''

Everyone looked over to Willow then, imagining that's who he would be talking about, but just like Bruce, she kept her eyes fixed on the monitor. It was clear what Loki's intentions were now, and none of them were going to play his game.

''How desperate are you,'' he looked back to Fury. ''that you call upon such lost creatures to defend you?''

Fury glared at the man inside the glass cage.

''How desperate am I?'' he repeated. ''You threaten my world with war, you steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace and yet you kill 'cause you think it's fun. You have made me very desperate, and you might not be glad that you did,''

Willow folded her arms and watched the monitor intently, wondering what SHIELD was going to do with Loki. Surely they couldn't leave him locked up in the cage for too long, they needed to act. However, Loki wasn't a cooperative person.

''It burns you to have come so close,'' Loki sneered, walking closer to the glass between them. ''To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power, and for what? A warm light for all mankind to share, and then to be reminded of what real power is,''

Fury's lip quirked up into a smirk as he looked at the man.

''Well let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine,''

As Fury exited the detention area, the others in the briefing room all looked around between one another. They had just witnessed everything that had happened between the Director and Loki, yet they still remained confused. Loki was giving no information as to where the Tesseract was or what he even intended to do with it. He was puzzling to read, even for Natasha, she couldn't analyze him through a screen, it had to be personal but it couldn't be right now.

Everyone was silent as they thought to themselves about what happened. Bruce wasn't surprised Loki knew all about him, he had one of the most authorized SHIELD agents under his control, he could get whatever information he wanted and Bruce was used to people being very interested in his unique ability. Willow wasn't surprised either when Loki mentioned her, she knew what he was trying to do. She knew she didn't fit into the world properly, it was obvious. She could do things other people were completely incapable of doing, but Loki wanted to make her feel even more isolated in this world.

''He really grows on you, doesn't he?'' Bruce commented as he folded his arms, looking at the screen.

''Loki's gonna drag this out,'' Steve shook his head. ''Thor, what's his play?''

Thor stood off to the side of them, watching on just as they did, but he was completely silent and folded his arms in concentration. He was ashamed of what his brother was doing, but he also feared what he was planning to do. Loki wasn't the same brother he remembered from Asgard, he was nothing like the man he remembered, but he still had an idea of what he was going to do.

''He has an army called the Chitauri,'' Thor told them as he turned around. He knew these people were trying to help just as he was, and he knew he could trust them with this information. ''They're not of Asgard or any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth. In return, I suspect, for the Tesseract,''

Willow looked at Thor with wide eyes, wondering what he meant by the fact the army was not from a known world. She knew there were many other worlds and worlds that no one knew of, but she had no idea they could easily be contacted or be able to make their way to Earth. From what she knew, it required great power to communicate with another world, and she knew now what the Tesseract was being used for. A bridge between the two worlds, a connection, but to which world. Willow knew the Tesseract was capable of such a thing, her mother had told her many things about it when she was young. Bruce looked over and noticed how deep in thought Willow was before Steve spoke up.

''An army...from outer space?'' he looked around the room, shocked.

''So he's building a portal,'' Bruce nodded. ''That's what he needs Erik Selvig for,''

''Selvig?'' Thor repeated.

''He's an astrophysicist,''

''He's a friend,''

''Loki has him under some sort of spell, along with one of ours,'' Natasha informed him.

''I wanna know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here,'' Steve spoke up.

Willow drowned out the sound of their voices as she thought to herself. Loki was building a portal to another world, and if there was a portal to one world out there, then the possibilities of communicating with a new world existed. There was no way she would risk it, but the thought of finding her father's world lingered in the back of her mind. She never knew where she came from, or if the abilities she had were normal on her father's world, but she had wondered her whole life and the curiosity was getting to her.

The team continued talking as she remained in her own daze, no one but Bruce noticing she was thinking of other things, but he continued talking to them about the science involved with building another portal and what was needed. No one really understood that aspect, but then another man joined them who knew exactly what Bruce was talking about.

''It's a stabilizing agent,'' Tony spoke when he walked into the room.

Everyone looked over to him in surprise as they weren't even sure he was going to join them again, and even Willow was pulled from her thoughts as she looked over to him. He was speaking to Coulson for a moment before actually coming over to the group and talking again, taking over from what Bruce was speaking about.

''It means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants,'' he told them.

Tony rambled on about something to do with a mast as he looked over the screens and put his hands behind them for a moment, looking as if he was feeling for something before he turned around and faced them all again. Willow didn't like how he arrogantly stood above them all, but she didn't know him and didn't know what sort of authority he had, but as fat as she was concerned, he was just as bad as the other SHIELD agents in terms of how he viewed her being here.

''The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he still needs is a power source. A high energy density, something to kick start the cube,'' he explained.

''When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?'' Agent Hill asked as she folded her arms.

''Last night,'' he told her before continuing on to explain something.

Willow continued listening as best she could, but she didn't understand this part of what was going on. She understood seeing things and what they could do, but the science element baffled her. All that was on her mind was that Loki was going to connect this world to another, and she wanted to know what other worlds there were and which one she was from. Coming here had never been a personal journey for her, she was here simply to repay a debt to Fury due to their deal, but now she realized what else she could gain from this. She could finally find out where her father was from, what she was and what her abilities meant.

When Willow snapped out of her thought, the conversation had ceased and they were leaving. Thor went to talk to Coulson, Steve walked off down the corridor as Natasha went back to the computers and Bruce and Tony were heading off to the lab. She had no idea how long she had been standing there thinking to herself.

''Hey, you alright?'' Bruce asked as he walked over.

''Yeah,'' she nodded. ''This is just...I think I need some uh, I might go out for a bit, get some air-''

''Uh uh,'' Fury came up behind them. ''You're not permitted outside,''

''And why not?'' she asked, shocked. ''You're seriously going to keep me here like an animal?''

''I told you when you came here, SHIELD doesn't trust easily,''

''Well I'm not used to being held captive, I need some air,''

Bruce stood silently as he watched their confrontation, not sure what to do.

''You take one step outside and I'll be forced to bring you back,'' he told her.

''She needs some air,'' Bruce told him. ''There are other people out there,''

''Banner, I need your help finding the Tesseract, not...''

Fury stopped when he noticed Willow was no longer there. It was easy to sneak away when you could do what she could, and she took advantage of it considering Fury was trying to control her.

''I'll be in the lab,'' Bruce told him as he walked away, leaving Fury to deal with the problem he brought on himself.

* * *

Once outside, Willow walked over to the edge of the helicarrier and just looked around. She had no plans to escape, she was willing to help them, but she honestly just needed some time to herself and some air. It was clear Fury didn't trust her, and she wasn't going to play his games as if she was some prisoner bargaining for a tiny bit of freedom, she was going to do what she wanted and help at the same time.

The Tesseract's use was now known, and Willow didn't expect herself to be so affected by the knowledge of what it was going to be used for. Bridging two worlds together, it was obvious, because Loki wanted to rule the Earth, but Willow had never thought he was going to bring creatures from that world into this one. One of her biggest questions about her father had always been how did he get here and why did he choose to be with her mother, a human, but she never received answers. She just wanted to know what Loki knew about the other worlds, or what Thor might know, because she was desperate to know where she was from and what world she connected to.

About an hour later, Willow walked back inside while being unseen to everyone, making her way through the corridors until she got to the lab where Bruce was. No one usually went there, and she knew Fury would be looking elsewhere for her, so she walked inside hoping to find a peaceful area for some time, and maybe even help. Tony was also working in the lab, but he had something set up somewhere else on the ship he had to see to.

''Do you mind?''

Bruce almost dropped everything in his hands as he turned around to see Willow appear in front of him. She gave him a soft smile before apologizing for sneaking up on him.

''I don't really have anywhere else to go,'' she explained.

''No...it's fine,'' he told her. ''You could help if you wanted to,''

''Yeah, I'd love to help, I feel pretty useless around here,''

Bruce positioned a box in front of her with color coded wires. It was the set up of a gamma tracking system he'd made himself, and although he was set up with endless SHIELD equipment, he trusted his own material more.

''Just put the colored wires in the matching colored slots,'' he told her. ''It's not much, but...''

''Every bit helps,'' she smiled. ''I just hope I don't break it,''

Bruce smiled and walked over to where he was working. Willow was glad she walked into the lab. She wanted somewhere quiet to stay for a while since she didn't know anywhere else on the ship, and Bruce could tell she just wanted to be somewhere, and he didn't mind the company, even if they were both silent. He understood wanting to hide somewhere and not be bothered, and he knew SHIELD liked to bother people, so he was happy to help. They remained in silence for a long time, and Bruce kept wondering what was on her mind earlier that made her need to leave for a while. He was never someone to pry into other people's business, but it seemed to affect her and no one else had noticed or asked, and so they continued sitting in silence as Bruce debated bringing it up into a conversation or letting it go, but for now they both thought to themselves.

* * *

**I hope you guys are still enjoying the story, thanks for reading and please review! Also this is where I'm going to start extending time and going off from the original script and movie storyline, but it'll all be interwoven I promise!**


	7. Chapter 7

Willow enjoyed the silence in the room as she helped Bruce with setting up the tracking system he'd designed. It was nice to be somewhere on the helicarrier where people weren't rushing around one another and Fury wasn't ordering people around. She had the feeling that Bruce felt the same about this ship and how the lab was a quiet haven away from it all, and she also noticed that he agreed with her about them all being stuck inside this helicarrier as if they were prisoners as well.

Bruce carried on with his work as normal, glancing over to Willow every now and then to see if she was doing okay, and he smiled in amusement at how concentrated she looked about such a simple task. Soon enough, she was finished and looking for something else to do to help, and since Tony still hadn't returned, he had plenty of things for her to assist him with.

''Okay this is just a graph of all the recent gamma use around the world, all you have to do is adjust them to the numbers on this piece of paper,'' he handed it to her as he showed her the screen. ''Just move the bar with your finger to the right number and then press this button here to move to the next one,''

Willow nodded her head at everything he was explaining, convinced she could do it.

''Okay, I got it,'' she smiled. ''Seems easy enough,''

Bruce walked back to where he was working which was on the other side of the desk, and he watched as Willow carefully adjusted the numbers and smiled at herself when it turned out to be easier than she thought.

''So how'd you get roped into all of this?'' Willow asked as she looked over to Bruce. ''You know, the whole 'team' thing and working with SHIELD,''

''Well, apparently I'm their go-to guy on gamma,'' he told her as he continued working. ''Although I don't know why they'd risk it,''

''Risk what?'' she asked.

Bruce looked up at her and realized it was a genuine question. Most people knew why, they knew he couldn't control what he became and SHIELD especially was uneasy about him being involved in things.

''They probably wouldn't appreciate the Other Guy making an appearance,'' he told her with emphasis so she would catch onto what he was saying.

Willow nodded her head and then thought to herself. He called it the Other Guy, but other people referred to it as the Hulk, and she didn't know why. She thought the Hulk was something Bruce used and what SHIELD wanted, but now she noticed that Bruce wasn't exactly on board with the idea and neither was SHIELD. She had seen short videos of the Hulk and photos, which was why it was so hard to believe it was actually Bruce, and it made her ask a question without even thinking.

''Does it hurt?'' she blurted out. ''I mean, the Other Guy...does it hurt you?''

Bruce stopped what he was doing and looked up to see her staring over to him with a soft smile, obviously feeling bad about asking the question in the first place.

''Afterwards, sometimes,'' he nodded. ''It's uh, it's exhausting,''

''And you can't control it?'' she asked, and Bruce shook his head. ''Well don't let anyone here push you into doing anything, especially Fury,''

Bruce chuckled lightly.

''I won't,'' he shook his head. ''What about you? How'd you get into all this?''

''I made a deal with Fury a long time ago,'' she rolled her eyes. ''Little piece of advice, never make a deal with that guy,''

''A deal?''

''It was a deal that if SHIELD ever needed help on a big scale, I'd be required to help them, put aside all differences and whatnot,'' she told him as she continued putting numbers onto the graph. ''I didn't think it'd actually happen though,''

''What'd you get out of it all?'' he asked curiously.

''Freedom, I guess,'' she shrugged. ''SHIELD, well Fury, agreed they wouldn't intrude on my life anymore and I'd be free to live however I wanted, but it turns out they knew where I was the whole time and were keeping other people off my trail or something, I don't know, anyway here I am, part of this 'team' I guess,''

Bruce didn't know Willow had been an important target for SHIELD like he had been, but he wasn't surprised, SHIELD knew just about everything. They knew where he was too the whole time he thought he was finally away from everything, and they knew exactly where to find him as well when they sent Natasha to bring him in. He knew he was only there to find the Tesseract and they really did need his help, the world was on the line after all, but he didn't like that he had been dragged back into everything.

''Sound's like it was a good deal,'' he smiled. ''You got to live your life,''

''Some of it, yeah,'' she nodded. ''I'm guessing you didn't get that option for a deal,''

''Definitely not,'' he laughed bitterly. ''No I was pretty much wanted by every government you could imagine. I'd only just found a comfortable place to stay when SHIELD found me and brought me in,''

Willow looked over to Bruce and sympathized that he didn't get to live the life he wanted. Not only was he controlled by the Hulk, or the Other Guy, but SHIELD and the government stopped him from being able to live as normally as he could. It was sad to think he had to deal with all of that.

''I'm sorry,'' she told him as she looked back to the piece of paper in her hands, avoiding his gaze. ''I'm complaining about the deal I made for freedom...and you didn't even get to make one,''

''It's fine,'' Bruce smiled, shaking his head. ''I don't mind helping, once it's all over I can go back to whatever freedom I had,''

Willow nodded her head in understanding before she went back to work. They remained in silence once again for a long time as they worked, the sound of their occasional yawns and sighs the only in the room. When Bruce looked up a while later, he couldn't see her, only a few agents walking past the lab and looking in, as he stared back at them in confusion. They peered into the room for a moment before walking past again, and soon enough Willow came back into his vision in front of him where she had been working the whole time.

''I'm pretty sure they're looking for me,'' she told him with a slight chuckle at his surprise. ''Sorry,''

Bruce laughed as he shook his head in disbelief.

''No, I just haven't seen anything like _that _before,'' he pulled off his glasses. ''Your abilities, they're uh, well I've never seen anything like it,''

Willow nodded her head.

''Neither have I,''

''If you don't mind...what-''

''I don't know,'' she shrugged, already knowing his question. ''My father wasn't, uh, human, but my mother was. She told me I was like him, so I guess wherever he was from, that's why I can do these things. I don't know what it's called or what I am,'' she told him quietly. ''SHIELD just calls me a 'superhuman' in their records, but I'm referred to as an alien freak,''

Bruce looked at her as she turned away, staring back at the paper in her hands. He could see how bothered she was by the face she had no idea what she was or why she could do these things.

''Just because you're capable of doing those things doesn't make you a freak,'' he told her, shaking his head. ''You're not,''

Before Willow would even thank him for his kind words, they both turned at the sound of heavy footsteps in the room and saw three agents marching in toward Willow. They grabbed her hands and pulled them behind her back, but they didn't hurt her, they feared what she might do.

''What the hell?'' she looked at them. ''Why-''

''We need to talk,'' Fury walked in behind them.

''About what?''

''About your commitment to this team and ability to follow rules,'' he put his hands on his hips. ''Let's go,''

''Get them off me, and I will,'' she shouted.

''Uh uh, I was not born yesterday. They take their hands off you and you'll disappear, you need to come with me,''

Willow didn't know whether it was because Fury was angry at her for breaking one rule or the fact that he had agents holding her arms back like she was a criminal, but she was angry. Her wrists glowed orange as they heated up, breaking the agents grasp on her as she walked away.

''I'm not the bad guy here, don't treat me like it!'' she yelled at Fury. ''I'm trying to help,''

''Given your past with us Willow, you can understand why we have to take precautions,'' he stepped back.

''No, I can't, because I thought this was a _team _that trusted each other and all you've done is treat me like a prisoner,'' she growled. ''I was willing to help you but don't-''

''Then you need to listen to me, you are a danger to everyone on board...''

Bruce stood over in the corner, watching on helplessly and trying to control his own breathing. He couldn't get involved in the drama, as much as he wanted to defend Willow and let Fury know she was actually helping him, he couldn't, it would make him too frustrated.

''Yeah?'' she shook her head in disbelief. ''Well you can count me out of this 'team' thing, how about that?''

Willow walked out of the room, but she could hear Fury trailing behind her in anger.

''You take one step off this ship-''

''And what?'' she turned around to him. ''I've done my part of our agreement, I helped you when you needed me to, now I'm done,''

''Willow!''

Fury hurriedly followed behind her until she stopped in her tracks, turning to him in angry as her whole body turned to flames. She held a hand up to him for him to stop and he reached for his gun, pulling it out quickly and pointing it at her.

''Don't make me do this, Willow,'' he shook his head.

''Let me off this ship,'' she told him through her teeth as she took a step closer to him, making him walk backwards as her flame encased hand was inches from his face.

The ground below her feet began to melt under her footprints as she took more steps toward him. Fury should have seen this coming, he knew she had mixed feelings about being on the team. However, Willow was angry at Fury and SHIELD for not trusting her, so she saw no reason to hide her frustration any longer. Willow stared at Fury for a while longer before she saw him nodding to someone behind her, but before she could find out who it was, something stabbed into her neck and within a single second everything went black.

Fury watched as Willow's body dropped to the ground, the flames now gone. He sighed as he put his gun back in his belt, walking over to her. He hadn't been hoping for a confrontation like that with her, but he knew it was coming. There was too much negative history between SHIELD and Willow, he didn't know how he expected it to be all cleared up like that. He had been treating her a lot different to the others, but only because he knew how dangerous she could be and they didn't have her full trust yet.

''The anesthesia won't last long Director,'' the agent told him. ''She's not human, it will pass through her system quicker,''

Fury nodded his head, looking at the woman on the floor.

''Take her to the detention hold, we need to have a word when she's calm,''

* * *

**Hey guys I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I thought I'd explore the little relationship between Bruce and Willow since they're both experiencing the same thing, it'll go into more detail later on. Within a few chapters I'll have the other Avengers a lot more involved. Like I said before, I'm extending the time a lot more so instead of being on the ship for like a day or two, it'll be much longer and the tracking and stuff will all be extended to the stay is longer, just so what I have planned will work out better instead of being rushed and not enough time for numerous interactions and detail. Anyway, I have a lot planned for the next chapter so I hope you enjoyed this one! Please review, I want to hear anything you guys have to say, and thanks for reading! x**


	8. Chapter 8

Willow could feel her neck throbbing with pain as her eyes fluttered open to a bright room, her back aching from the hard ground she laid on. It hurt to even move her head, which was pounding with a headache, as she lifted her body up to sit in the middle of the glass encased room she was in. Everything was so bright from being unconscious for so long, but she knew exactly where she was. It was the same type of room Loki was in, a detention cell, and she was locked inside.

Her argument with Fury had become a lot more aggressive than she thought, but she couldn't help her anger. The last thing she remembered was seeing him nod his head, and then she felt a stinging pain in her neck. Whatever they had done to her, the effects were still wearing off. She felt groggy like she had been woken from a deep sleep and couldn't remember how many fingers she had. However when she looked to her right, things seemed a lot worse. There were only two detention cells on this ship that catered for those who were stronger than others, and they were situated right next to each other, slightly separated by a small metal divider between the glass walls.

Loki looked over to her with a smirk on his face, amused at the fact she had been thrown into a cell by the people she claimed to have an alliance with. She groaned loudly at the fact she was beside him in her cell, unable to ignore the fact that Fury was treating her like a psychopath as well.

''It appears your team has turned on you,'' he spoke. ''Or have you turned on them?''

''No, we're not doing this, don't talk to me,'' she shook her head, moving over to sit on the opposite side of the glass facing him, burying her face in her knees which she pulled close to her.

Loki laughed and Willow could feel her anger growing again, but she tried her best to hold back any emotion that would encourage his taunting. She wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone, especially not a crazed psychopath who wanted to rule them all.

''It was going to happen sooner or later,'' he told her as he walked to the glass wall and looked into her cell intimidatingly. ''You're not a human, you're a _creature_-''

''I am _not _a creature!'' she yelled, throwing herself up onto her feet.

Willow could feel her anger building and as she yelled angrily, her body responded with flames coming off her skin, but it didn't last long. From the ceiling, water began to spray down on her and extinguished the flames, soaking her in her cell as she stood in the middle with clenched fists. Loki only laughed even more at her attempt to defend herself, watching on as her cell filled with steam from the water hitting against her skin.

''Your denial is laughable,'' he put his hands behind his back as he watched her look up a the ceiling. ''Your friends fear you, they lock you in a cage that dismantles your powers, they sedate you because you are not like them,''

Willow couldn't even be bothered to argue with him, there was no point, he wasn't going to stop. The water continued to pour down on her as she lowered herself to the floor, her back to Loki, and sat down with her legs crossed. She couldn't let other people control her anymore, she had to act like everyone else and suppress her feelings when they arose, otherwise she'd only be seen as an animal, a creature, and she didn't want that. However it was difficult when she felt so alienated. She wasn't used to being around people, she had lived most her life in solitude,

Hours later, when the water had stopped and Willow's cell managed to dry, Fury walked into the detention area and looked into her cell. He didn't want to have to do this, but she had left him with no choice. It wasn't as if SHIELD had ever dealt with someone like this before, Willow was unique, they had to make sure they took precautions. Fury looked over to Loki is his neighbor cell as he sat on the single seat inside, smirking in amusement before Fury ignored his presence, walking up to the glass door in front of Willow.

''You have to know this wasn't my first choice,'' he told her as she stared mindlessly as the ceiling, leaning back on her elbows. ''We already have one person whose anger we have to monitor, you can't endanger the people on this ship because you get annoyed,''

Willow didn't respond to him, she just continued staring at the ceiling as if there was something interesting up there. Fury could tell she was angry still, annoyed that she was locked in a cell like a prisoner, but he couldn't let her out until she would talk to him and they could meet an understanding.

''Someone like you just needs to adjust-''

''Someone like me...'' she looked over to him. ''And what is that exactly?''

''You tell me,''

Willow hated that no one could tell her what she was, but she mostly hated the fact that even she didn't know. Knowing what would happen, she raised her hand and let it glow, flames swirling around it, before the water began to rain down once again, soaking her and ending the heat that she emitted.

''A danger, apparently,'' she looked up at the ceiling again.

Fury sighed in disappointment. He knew she was angry, but he didn't expect her to be so disinterested in working things out, discussing it. SHIELD needed her help, but to Willow, they weren't getting it until they stopped treating her like an animal in a cage. However Willow didn't know what she felt, whether it was anger or frustration or she was just upset, she was confused.

''You're tormented,'' Loki commented as he looked over to her in curiosity once Fury walked away. ''You don't know what you are,''

''Is there no mute button on your cell?'' she groaned, throwing her hands over her face. ''Just stop talking,''

''I know exactly what you are,''

Willow moved her head to look over at him, his sly grin all the confirmation she needed that he was, again, lying.

''You don't have a clue, no one does,'' she shook her head.

''I know of every realm,'' Loki reminded her. ''Every monster, every creature, every form, I know of people with talents similar to yours, however theirs are a lot more powerful. Yours are damaged by the fact you're part human, that's your weakness,''

Loki had been to all of the realms, that part Willow believed, but he was deceptive and manipulative, there was no way he knew what she was. He knew nothing about her, she didn't even know how he was aware she was part human, but she couldn't help being drawn to the fact he was the only person she'd encountered that had claimed to know more about her than anyone else. It was a huge risk to trust anything he said, but even if it were all lies, Willow wanted to know.

* * *

''I'm sorry, didn't you bring her in to help?'' Steve asked as he sat the the briefing table where Fury was.

The monitor on the screen showed Willow sitting in her cell, Loki in his beside her, as if she was a prisoner on board instead of a team member. Fury watched on, worried about what would happen if he left her in there longer.

''You're aware that Willow is capable of unimaginable things,'' Fury folded his arms. ''Things SHIELD has never dealt with before,''

''That's no reason to lock her away. She's different to us, but she was willing to help,''

''And she will, she just needed time to calm down,''

Steve remained silent as he watched the screen, the misery on Willow's face. None of them had been listening to what Loki was saying to her, they hadn't even noticed he was speaking.

''She needs your trust,'' Steve looked up at the director.

''We need hers,''

''Well, honestly, all of this isn't helping,'' Steve stood up, walking out of the room.

It was clear that the rest of the team didn't entirely agree with the way he handled the situation, but he had no other choice. Natasha agreed it was right to sedate her, but not throw her in a cell next to Loki. Tony didn't know what had happened, but he managed to take a jab at Fury's trust issues once he found out through Bruce, who hated the way Fury had imprisoned her.

''Sir,'' Coulson's voice came from behind him. ''Medical has results,''

Fury nodded his head.

''Take the bridge,''

Walking down the corridor, Fury felt even more guilt that he did before. Not only did he have conflicting feelings about locking Willow in the cell, but when she had been sedated, he gave the medical team directions to take some blood and analyse it. SHIELD had the best technology and medics, they'd have results within hours, and he wanted to know what they had found.

Willow had human DNA, but it wasn't normal. It was mixed with complexities, cells that no one had seen before, a stronger immune system. Whatever she was, it was more advanced than any normal human being, but they didn't know if it could be used. Willow healed quicker than humans, she didn't bruise easy and any cuts healed within hours. The medics were fascinated by the possibilities of what they could do, what they could create, and Fury knew he couldn't tell anyone else on the ship about it.

''What have you got?'' Fury asked when he walked inside the medical lab.

''Well sir, it's quite amazing,'' the man walked over to him. ''There's no match for her blood type, it doesn't exist, and it's full of foreign cells. It's remarkable, really, what her body can do. Her blood is like an antidote to humans, well it appears to be, because it cures her body of injury and infection almost immediately,''

''You know nothing about her blood? No matches, no traces of anything similar to us?'' Fury asked.

''No sir, her blood's incompatible with any other,'' the man shook his head. ''We've been through SHIELD's database, through all of the unusual subjects you've encountered, but there is nothing like her in our world,''

Fury walked out of the room not long after, slowly walking down the corridor. She was an alien, there was no ignoring that fact, but he couldn't keep her in a cell. She was part of the team, he had brought her in to help and he was going to let her help, but he would always be cautious. They needed to keep doing tests on her blood sample, find out what caused her abilities and how she survived in a different environment. For that day, Fury had forgotten about the Tesseract. Loki was in a holding cell, they had the scepter, they were making progress.

* * *

Willow had been listening to whatever Loki had to tell her, however he had yet to reveal where she came from or what she was, he only told her of the others he had met like her. She assumed his boredom got the better of him, talking to her now instead of taunting or mocking. Willow had been sitting with her back against the glass wall, facing Loki, intrigued by what he was telling her. She never thought she'd pay close attention to anything he told her, but she hadn't met someone with knowledge of another realm before.

''The Tesseract,'' she cut in. ''It can connect the realms, can't it?'' Loki didn't respond, he only smiled as if she was finally catching on. ''Is that the only way to join Earth with another world?''

''There is never only one way,'' he shook his head. ''However, for you, it'd be impossible. You haven't the knowledge or the power,''

''I'm aware,'' she frowned, looking at her hands. ''But it _is _possible,''

With the Tesseract, anything was possible. Loki was planning to use it to connect Earth with whatever realm held his army, if he got that far, which meant it could connect to anywhere else. It would have been a more exciting piece of knowledge if Willow had known what realm her father was from.

''Are you ever going to tell me where I'm from?'' she looked up at him. ''Where my father was born, where there are people like me, since you know,''

''What makes you think I'd pass on that information so easily?'' he chuckled. ''No, see I've created something now,''

''And what's that?'' Willow folded her arms.

''A bargain,'' he told her simply. ''Something that will always be on your mind, haunting you that I know what you've been desiring you whole life, that I have what you want, and you'll always have that in your mind,''

Willow knew Loki wouldn't be so kind, but she hadn't expected him to weasel into her mind like that. She wasn't going to let him have a hold over her though, that would be her greatest weakness.

''But, desperation...I understand, can bring out the best in people, and we could reach an agreement. An understanding, a form of...cooperation,''

''I'm not going to help you, forget it,'' she shook her head. ''Desperation doesn't get the better of me that easily,''

Loki chuckled loudly, leaning back on his chair against the glass.

''I suppose we'll wait and see then,''

* * *

**I really hope you guys are enjoying this still. Like I said I'm extending the time period, so it may seem like the Tesseract and all of that is kind of forgotten but it's totally not, it's just a slower process of finding it. I wanted to show just how different Willow is and how she's so confused and lost about who she is, I think it shows a lot of similarities with the Avengers that I'll get to later. Mostly this chapter was about showing how there's two sides of Willow, she's very flawed and there is a darker side of her that makes her who she is, and that certain people and situations can bring that side of her out. Anyway, that'll be shown in future chapters as there are conflicting personalities within her. I hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading and PLEASE review, I want to hear anything, let me know if you like or don't like, what I could do to better it or something you'd like me to include. Thanks xx**


	9. Chapter 9

After Willow had fallen asleep in her cell, Fury had waited until the morning to unlock the doors and free her. She looked up at him in annoyance as he stood silently, gesturing for her to leave and come with him. Now wasn't the time to be stubborn, she'd been stuck in here for too long and she just wanted out. She looked over to the cell next to hers and saw Loki staring back in amusement, shaking his head as if she was naive to comply with Fury again.

''I think we need to talk,'' Fury told her once they began walking out.

''Are you going to throw me in a cell again when I disagree with you?'' Willow asked, folding her arms. ''Look, I don't want to talk right now. I've been in a cell next to a psychopath, drenched in water, deprived of a bathroom and food might I add, and you're not exactly the first person I'd like to converse with now that I have some freedom,''

Fury sighed, putting his hands on his hips as he watched her walk down the corridor quickly.

''And where exactly are you going?''

''To shower and actively avoid you for as long as I can,'' she called back, not stopping or bothering to turn to him.

Willow didn't want to discuss what had happened with him right now, she just wanted to go back to the room she'd been given and put on some clean clothes. She would talk to Fury eventually, there was a lot they needed to go over and sort out, but right now she wanted to be alone.

''Hey, you're out of your tantrum cage,''

Willow turned to see Tony walking down the adjacent corridor, grinning at his joke. She wasn't in the mood for playfulness and she didn't like the man at all, despite not having much to do with him at all.

''Oh, you're still here,'' she continued walking, hearing him following behind her.

''So how was the isolation?'' he stepped faster to walk beside her. ''You sure pissed Fury off for him to do that. How _do _you do that by the way? The flames and all, it's crazy, and the invisibility thing, that's just weird. Also can't you fly or something? Seriously, what _are _you?''

Tony Stark definitely wasn't someone who could pick up on the clear signals. Willow didn't want to talk to him, she didn't want to play along with his jokes and she didn't want to listen to his voice in her ear the whole time she was walking.

''Aren't you supposed to be finding something? The Tesseract, does that ring a bell?''

''But _how _does a person even fly? That's not even possible, are you sure-''

''I can't fly,'' she cut him off, figuring she'd answer his questions and shut him up. ''My body can challenge gravity when necessary, but it's not a consistent feat, I'm not capable of full flight, okay?''

Willow hurried her pace to get away from him but Tony was a persistent person, and he continued following her.

''That's still crazy, I mean I've never heard of it before, but then I haven't really met an alien or...whatever you are,''

''You're an ass, okay? Leave me alone,'' she snapped.

Tony stopped and watched as Willow hurried her pace, becoming further away from him down the corridor. She was much more human than he thought. Tony hadn't been on the helicarrier as long as the others had been, most of his judgments came from other agents or on the files he'd managed to get him hands on from SHIELD about her. She wasn't a total alien, she was part human, and she was a lot more human than he imagined.

''Next time you want to piss Fury off let me know,'' he called out, chuckling to himself.

* * *

Willow felt as if she hadn't been this comfortable in a long time. After the hard floors in the cell, the bed in her room felt like a fluffy cloud full of feathers. She wanted to go talk to Fury about what happened and sort out their problems with each other, but right now she just wanted to be fully alone, no prying eyes of a psychopath, and relax. She felt so embarrassed that everyone on board knew how she acted, but there was nothing she could do about it now.

Tony returned to the lab not long after his run in with Willow, munching on a bag of mixed berries as he walked over to the monitor near his desk. He looked over the results, nodding to himself.

''Making progress, _slow _progress,'' he told Bruce who had just walked in the room as well, starting a fresh day of searching. ''But I guess finding the Tesseract isn't a quick fix,''

''No it's not,'' Bruce answered, taking a sip of his drink. ''Whoever Loki gave it to, they've hidden it well,''

''They're gonna mess up somehow,'' Tony shrugged. ''They've gotta move it, use it, expose it soon enough, and then we'll get the signals,''

''If they're under that spell Loki put on Barton, they might not be so stupid to mess up,'' Bruce shrugged. ''I just hope they do,''

Tony nodded and continued his work, although all he wanted to do was fill his mouth with food as he lounged back on his seat. Bruce continued sipping on his drink as he put data onto the screen, filling out whatever had happened overnight.

There wasn't much to input at the moment considering progress as moving slowly, but they couldn't just stop work because nothing was happening, they had to keep searching. Especially since Steve had been walking around and asking about what was going on, trying to keep as up to date as possible on the whole thing. Natasha rarely visited the lab, she was too busy looking over the computers in the bridge, trying to see if there was any sign of Barton, but there hadn't been. None of them knew if Natasha slept the night before, but she was a master assassin, one night of no sleep wasn't going to affect her at all.

''Stark, a word,''

Tony turned to see Fury standing at the door, looking unimpressed as usual.

''Whatever, just talk, I'm not getting up,'' he groaned, throwing a few berries in his mouth. ''What?''

''Your level of stupidity continues to baffle me, Stark,'' Fury began, taking a few steps into the room. ''Willow was put in detention for control issues, I don't know how you thought provoking her was going to be useful five minutes after she's released,''

''I didn't provoke anything, I was curious,'' Tony defended. ''You should be offended she didn't throw a tantrum when she spoke to me, just you. I have a feeling she doesn't like you, I have no idea why anyone wouldn't,'' he chuckled to himself.

''Just do what you're supposed to and find the cube,'' Fury told him firmly before walking away.

Tony was still laughing to himself at Fury's anger as Bruce looked over to him, stopping his work.

''Willow...she's out now?'' he asked innocently.

''Yeah Fury got her out this morning,'' Tony told him casually. ''I don't think she's a morning person,''

''What did you do?''

''Why does everyone assume I _did _anything?'' Tony threw his hands up. ''I only asked her what she was, it's not like we weren't all thinking it. Seriously, how does someone fly? Or 'challenge gravity' or whatever, it's weird,''

Bruce kept quiet for a moment, contemplating what he should say. He felt as though he should defend Willow, tell Tony that she was human and he had no idea what it was like to be treated like a freak, but he didn't. Instead, he finished up whatever he was doing and took his glasses off.

''I forgot to eat breakfast,'' he remarked as he walked over to the door.

''You just said you weren't hungry!'' Tony called back before shrugging to himself, his eyes turning back to the monitor.

Bruce didn't know why he wanted to go see Willow, he just did. She was isolating herself, and although he understood wanting to be alone after something like that, he knew she thought she had no one to talk to. But Bruce knew what it was like. To explode like that, to have time to think over and over again about how stupid it was to lose control and to have everyone around you knowing exactly what you could be like. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, but he imagined it would be worse since everyone already considered her a freak.

Bruce made his way to her door and hesitated for a moment, but he soon knocked a few times against it and waited. For a while, he didn't think she was going to answer and he began to regret his decision, but then the door opened. Willow looked different to him than she did before. It wasn't just the change of clothes or the fact her hair was wet from a shower, it was her eyes. They were darker, as if she'd been crying or hadn't slept in weeks. They were a clear sign as to just how much this was all getting to her.

''Hey,'' she smiled lightly.

Out of everyone on board the ship, Willow liked Bruce the best. She hadn't spent that much time with him, but she was comfortable around him. He didn't intimidate her or degrade her as an alien or something else, he was warm toward her, and she appreciated that.

''Hey, I just came to see how you are,'' he smiled in return.

''Oh, you didn't have to, I'm fine,'' she shook her head. ''Although I'm sure I'm being talked about by everyone around here. You want to come in?''

Bruce smiled as he entered her room. They weren't your normal rooms on the helicarrier, they were like miniature apartments. There was a bathroom, refrigerator that was always stocked, a living room and a bed. There was also a dresser in everyone's room with their own clothes and uniform for whenever they needed to leave the helicarrier, however Bruce didn't have one of those. He didn't get to leave the helicarrier.

''So what are they saying?'' she asked as she took a seat on the long couch. ''Crazy alien chick goes mental and gets thrown in a cell with the psycho? Or is that too tame?''

''I uh, I don't know what they're saying...''

''Bruce,'' Willow gave him a look. ''I know these people don't like me, I can't imagine they'd spare any details when it came to spreading around my meltdown,''

''None of us have said anything,'' he told her honestly. ''In fact we defend you,''

Having people defend her wasn't something she was used to, it wasn't as if anyone did it often. She didn't have any friends, no family left and those who did know her referred to her like all the agents did.

''I don't know why anyone would defend me,'' she shook her head. ''I mean it's true, you heard what I did. They call me a freak, an alien, well that's what I am,''

Bruce shook his head.

''You're not,'' he told her. ''You got angry, trust me, I understand,''

Willow looked up at him, realizing that anger was Bruce's trigger. The Hulk, as she had heard them call it, would be unleashed anytime Bruce's anger got out of control, and he couldn't help it. Willow could control herself, she just had a short fuse, but Bruce couldn't.

''How do you deal with it?'' she asked him softly. ''These people, the way they treat you like you're a weapon, how they tiptoe around you,''

''It's not easy,'' he nodded. ''But I've had a lot of practice. Fury...he's like this most of the time, but it'll get better, and the agents are just scared,'' he explained. ''I know what it's like to feel like an animal in a cage being poked fun of and having everyone go out of their way to avoid being near you, so I just want you to know...that uh, you can talk to me,''

Willow smiled.

''Why are you being so nice to me?'' she asked, genuinely interested. ''I'm fairly sure Fury's about to send me back to where he found me, you guys won't have to deal with me again,''

''Because I saw what you did in Germany,'' he told her. ''I saw you fight for the team, you protected Steve and everyone else there, and I watched as people still called you an alien, after everything you did. Fury won't send you back, you won't be going anywhere,''

Willow was surprised that Bruce had seen her efforts in Germany, even more so that he picked up on the fact that no one one else had. Bruce related to her, he understood what the alienation felt like and he just didn't want her to have to experience it as if no one else cared. He felt like he needed to be there for her, because he was the only one who really understood.

''Thank you,''


	10. Chapter 10

Willow folded her arms like a small child as she walked down the long corridor from her room, making her way slowly to Fury's office. It had taken her until midday to decide to finally go and sort things out. After Bruce had left, she took some time to think to herself about everything and she decided to try her best to make things work, she wanted to help find the Tesseract and she wasn't going to just give up.

Fury was sitting at his desk looking over the new results from the scans SHIELD had been doing on the Tesseract's gamma emission, but so far they hadn't found anything. It was almost as if things were too calm, there was no alien army invading them and there had been no sign of the Tesseract even being used. Something wasn't right.

''You wanted to talk,''

Willow stood leaning on the door frame as Fury looked up at her as if he was surprised she had come to see him on her own. He had allowed her whatever space she needed for now, taking into consideration she had been in a cell for almost two days.

''I do,'' he nodded, gesturing for her to take a seat.

''Don't you want some of your agents sitting in?''

''I was hoping to develop some trust here,'' he sighed. ''I trust you, you trust me, deal?''

''I'll let you know when this conversation is over,'' she folded her arms again. ''I suppose the topic of discussion would be my tantrum, as everyone seems to call it?''

''Partly,'' he nodded. ''But it's been brought to my attention that your actions were somewhat provoked...by me,''

Willow laughed.

''Really? You couldn't see that for yourself?'

''You want to be treated like everyone else on this ship, you have to understand that that's how I operate. I question, I call people out, I demand answers,''

''And I get that, but you've been targeting me as if you're waiting for me to do something wrong,'' she explained. ''I wouldn't have agreed to this deal if I wasn't committed to going through with it. I'm willing to you and SHIELD find the Tesseract, I'm on your side here, but you've been treating me like the enemy instead of an ally,''

Fury nodded his head.

''I know. But you've been living in solitude for so long, you have powers that no one else on this Earth possesses and that no one else understands and you haven't got the best history with SHIELD...''

''You're the one who brought me into this. If you didn't trust me-''

''I didn't know what to think, all I knew is that we needed your help, and still do. We can work together, you can have your freedom as long as I have your word that you we can trust you. And after all of this is over, the bridge between you and SHIELD-''

''No,'' Willow shook her head. ''I'm not staying with SHIELD after all of this, forget it. You have my trust for this mission, but that's it,''

''Willow, there are people out there who know about you. SHIELD can protect you and you can help-''

''I said forget it Fury, drop it,'' she raised her voice. ''I'm on this mission and this mission only, got it? I'll help you find the Tesseract as long as we have an understanding of trust and that I'm on your side, so back off, but you can forget me and SHIELD cooperating again after this,''

Fury watched her expression and knew there was no changing her mind, and so he nodded in agreement. SHIELD had been keeping her safe for years, keeping people off her trail, and Fury would make sure they continued to do so, but Willow would have been better off with them. Willow stood up after they reached an agreement and nodded toward him before walking over to the door.

''Willow,'' Fury called out, stopping her as he stood up. ''What happened to your mother, SHIELD-''

''I don't want to talk about it,'' she shook her head. ''I didn't come here for this, just let it go,''

Before Fury could say any more, Willow walked off away from his office. She had an agreement with him and that's all she wanted, everything else was pointless to her. She was never going to stay with SHIELD, she just couldn't, no matter what happened on this mission, too much had already been damaged.

* * *

''Any progress?''

Natasha shook her head as Steve stood beside her, looking over to the computer screens in front of the agents. The Tesseract remained missing, and so did Agent Barton. Whatever spell Loki's scepter had put on him, he wasn't on SHIELD's side anymore, but that didn't make him an enemy. Natasha and Barton were SHIELD's best assassins, they'd worked together on countless missions where they almost lost their lives, always looking out for each other. Barton had spared her life when SHIELD first found out about Natasha, she wanted to make sure she could save him this time as well.

''No sign of him anywhere,''

''We'll find him,'' Steve told her.

''Yeah,'' she nodded, not wanting to talk about it. ''So have you seen Willow?''

''No, I haven't,'' he shook his head. ''I heard Tony was the first one to talk to her when Fury released her so you can imagine how sensitive he was,''

''Not very,''

Natasha and Steve turned to see Willow standing behind them. She looked better compared to how they had seen her on the cell footage, and she even had a smile on her lips. It was nice to know that the team she was meant to be working with actually did care about her, from what Bruce had told her, they'd been rather angry about Fury's decision to lock her away.

''Nice to have you back,'' Steve smiled.

''Nice to not be in a detention cell,'' Willow nodded. ''Sorry I kind of took attention off the task-''

''Don't be,'' Natasha cut her off. ''Nothing's happened, and you needed to clear things up with Fury. Granted it could have been handled better,''

''Yeah, I guess,'' Willow shrugged. ''What's done is done,''

Natasha nodded and looked back over at the screens. She knew there would be nothing new to look at, but it was a habit now, she couldn't help looking over all of the screens that other people were already watching. She had to be alert, ready for anything like she had been trained for. One of their own had been taken, and it happened to be one of the only people in SHIELD, and in the world, that she trusted and cared about.

''You know, I don't think you'll have to go looking for him,'' Willow spoke. ''He'll come to us,''

''What?'' Natasha turned to her, her expression serious at the mention of Barton.

''He's under whatever spell Loki put on them, controlled by the scepter and Loki himself. We have both of them here, sooner or later they're going to come looking for them both, because Barton knows where we are and he'll know how to get in,''

Steve folded his arms and listened in. It wasn't a bad theory, it was actually quite logical, but SHIELD had the best security in the world, there was no way anyone could break in or interrupt them and certainly not without their knowledge.

''But how long would it take?'' Natasha asked. ''It's been almost three days and there's been no sign of any of them,''

''Then we'll just have to wait it out,'' Willow shrugged. ''They're bound to show up, they're not total robots, they can still make mistakes. We just have to be looking for them,''

Natasha looked away, thinking about Willow's words. It was true, Barton would know exactly how to get them there and get inside the helicarrier to take whatever they wanted, and with this knowledge, Natasha was going to be on a much higher alert for anything unusual.

''Maybe,'' she nodded.

''It's something to keep in mind, and so far it's our only theory,''

''Then I hope I'm not wrong,'' Willow chuckled. ''And I hope we're ready,''

* * *

Willow wandered down the corridor again a few hours later after spending most of the day with Steve and Natasha, gaining as much knowledge as she could about whatever she had missed while being in her cell. Not much had happened at all, but she wanted to stay in the loop. Just before she made it any further, she heard a voice that made her become invisible to everyone.

''There is no decent food on this ship,'' Tony complained as he walked into the lab. ''Apple?''

''No thanks,'' Bruce shook his head. ''This tracking algorithm seems...wrong,''

Tony frowned.

''Can't be,''

''I know, it's like the computer changed it though,'' Bruce shook his head. ''I can fix it, it'll just...it'll take a while,'' he sighed.

''Got plenty of time Banner, it's not like things are moving fast around here,''

Willow walked into the room, wandering around and looking at the work they'd been doing. Bruce seemed like he never took a break, busying himself, but Tony always had work to do in other rooms for some reason, something he had brought onto the ship himself. Tony was sitting on a stool over by the side, munching on his apple as Bruce started inputting data again, rewriting something they'd completed the day before. Willow smirked as she saw Tony leaning back on the stool, unable to stop herself from walking over and swiping her foot beneath him, kicking out one of the legs and watching him fall to the floor.

''What the hell!'' Tony groaned as he pulled himself up to sit on the floor, looking around. ''What was that?''

''Is this a bad time?'' Willow appeared over at the door as if she had no idea what had happened.

Bruce smiled and suppressed a chuckled as soon as he saw her, he knew she had been the one to kick Tony's seat from beneath him. However Tony just glared in her direction, pulling himself up and leaning against the bench, unable to trust the seat once again, especially with her in the room now.

''No, it's fine,'' Bruce answered finally. ''Anything new happening out there?''

Willow shook her head.

''Nothing, a few theories getting tossed around but so far nothing's happening,''

''Yeah it's pretty boring around here too,'' Tony chimed in. ''Hey how about you _heat _things up again? Bursting into flames will sure bring some more excitement into this place,''

Willow looked over to Tony with a smile on her face as if his comments didn't bother her. He was doing it to tease her, to provoke her, and she wasn't going to bite at his bait.

''And how about you actually help out instead of trying to be funny, I'm sure that will shock people just as much,'' she continued smiling in his direction.

Tony laughed and shook his head. Bruce watched as the two of them looked back at one another with a smile on their lips, but they weren't genuine. They were like children arguing with one another.

''Yeah, I just might,'' Tony nodded, walking over to the door. ''I'm sure you've got the annoying Bruce part down, no need for me here,'' he remarked with a smirk on his lips before disappearing down the corridor again.

Willow groaned and pushed Tony's chair away from her, kicking it to the ground.

''Don't let him get to you,'' Bruce looked over to her.

He noticed how easy it was for her to lose her temper, having not had to deal with people in a long time, he knew how that used to feel.

''He's not,'' she shook her head in denial. ''He's just...I can't stand that guy,''

Bruce chuckled.

''He's okay,''

Willow hopped up on the bench next to where Bruce was working, picking up a piece of paper with a lot of confusing numbers and words written all over it. She had no idea how Bruce or anyone else understood it. Bruce watched as her eyes scanned the piece of paper, and he couldn't help grinning at how curious she was about everything he did.

''What's all of this?'' she asked.

''It's an algorithm, well it's the formula for one, to track the Tesseract's signals,'' he explained. ''I'll show you,''

Bruce turned the screen around and showed her what he was working on, laughing as she immediately shook her head that she didn't understand. He didn't know why, but he wanted to explain everything to her, to show her everything she wanted to know. She had lived a life of solitude and he knew what that was like, however where Bruce began that life later in his, solitude and alienation was all Willow ever knew. Bruce felt as though she was the only person on the ship that he could relate to. No one had taken an interest in having anything to do with Bruce in such a long time, it was nice that Willow always came to the lab and spent the rest of the day there, Bruce didn't know how Tony could think it was annoying at all. In fact it made him happy.

* * *

**Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! By now you can basically see where things are starting to form, but I guess like any other story it won't be without complication and all that other stuff. Please, please review, I love hearing from all of you and I'd love to know what you guys think or any ideas? I'll be most likely updating one more time before Christmas, maybe twice, I usually get chapters written pretty fast. Thanks for reading.**

**ALSO, I have been working on a new chapter for 'Heroes...' but honestly I've hit a brick wall with it. I know where I want to go with it, it's just getting there...and it's quite difficult considering I have no ideas or anything right now, I have nothing. If anyone would like to lend some ideas or help, I'd be grateful, although that story isn't exactly priority, I'd still like to work on it. Thanks. **


	11. Chapter 11

There had been the smallest amount of excitement in the lab when Bruce picked up a gamma signal somewhere in London, but it proved to be nothing worth their time, and definitely not the Tesseract. However, a few SHIELD agents did go to find out what it was, but there wasn't much hope for it being the Tesseract or anything useful.

Willow had been helping out however she could. Putting data into computers, beginning scans and all sorts of other technical exercises that she knew nothing about at the start of the day. Bruce had been patient with her in explaining everything, and it had been peaceful in the lab for the rest of the day and afternoon. When it became night, Bruce was ready to continue working, but there was nothing to see. No sign of anything, and Fury hadn't given them any more news on what was going on. Fury agreed with Willow working with Bruce, it seemed to be the only time she was calm and happy to be on board, so he left them be, however he couldn't help feeling worried that the two most dangerous people on the Helicarrier were in the same room, both with anger issues.

''You should probably take a break, you've been in here all day,'' Willow suggested, looking over to Bruce who was rubbing his eyes out of both boredom and exhaustion since nothing had been happening.

''It's okay, I'm used to this king of thing,'' he told her politely.

''Well, I'm not used to being in a room for so long,'' she chuckled. ''I need some air, and so do you, sitting in a room all day and night can't be good for you,''

''It's okay,'' Bruce smiled. ''I don't think Fury would agree with leaving the lab for-''

''Well Fury needs to realize you're not a robot, none of us are. You need a break, come on,'' she insisted, hopping down from the bench and looking over to him. ''I know a nice spot,''

Bruce stared at Willow for a while, debating with himself whether or not he should leave the lab. There was nothing else to be done. The scan was in progress and Bruce had a mobile device that would let him know via alarm if it picked anything up. His presence in the lab wasn't necessary, but he still didn't feel right leaving. SHIELD only wanted him to find the Tesseract, they didn't want him to wander around or take any relaxing breaks. To them, he was here to help them, nothing else.

However Bruce pulled off his glasses and threw them onto the table beside him as he walked away, stepping beside Willow as they left the room. He was familiar with most of the areas on the helicarrier, but he wasn't familiar with the route she was taking.

''Uh, where are we going?'' he asked nervously. ''Pretty sure I didn't get a tour of this,''

''To get a good view,'' she told him simply with a slight chuckle.

Bruce continued following her until they reached a side door which required quite some force to open, but Willow managed to do that all on her own. He noticed how she became invisible when she first walked out, making sure no one else was around before she became visible and smiled for Bruce to follow.

He should have known where they were. On the roof, right beside the runway of the helicarrier. After their argument, Fury had allowed Willow access to the rood for some air, but Bruce was fairly sure he wouldn't have allowed her right on the edge where they were, and he especially wouldn't have allowed Bruce to be there either. He felt like a rebellious teenager, it was silly really, but he had never had someone be so comfortable around him that they'd trust him so much to do this.

''Isn't it beautiful?'' she sighed, looking up at the stars as they sat down on the concrete, leaning against the door behind them.

Bruce took a moment to look at up the clear night sky, the scattered white spots that glittered over the dark canvas and how the moon glowed. He wasn't sure if it was because she pointed it out or not, but it was the most beautiful night sky he'd ever seen.

''Yeah,'' he nodded. ''It is,''

''It doesn't matter where I am, what country I'm in, whenever I feel homesick...it makes it better looking at the stars,'' she told him quietly.

''Really?''

''Yeah,'' she nodded with a smile. ''I just know that I'm from somewhere up there, and looking up at the stars is as close as I'm gonna be to whatever home I have left, I guess,''

Bruce looked over to her once she finished speaking, noticing how wide her eyes were as she stared at the sparkling lights in the sky. She was lost, looking for her home, and he finally understood why she was so disconnected from everyone else. She was sadder than he had thought, much more complex than everyone else imagined.

''It's stupid, I know,'' she shook her head. ''I mean I don't even know where I'm from, I don't even know if it's up there anymore,''

Bruce shook his head, looking up at the stars once again.

''It's not stupid to want to know,'' he told her. ''I'm just sorry I can't help you,''

Willow looked over to him with a smile.

''No one can, but thanks,''

''So, your family is from...'' he began, not really sure how to ask.

''My father is, yeah, but I'm not sure where from. All I know it's not Earth, it's another realm,'' she explained. ''My mother was Canadian, where I was born, that's why she called me Willow,'' she told him before shaking her head. ''I shouldn't ramble so much, we came out here for air not my life story,''

''No, it's fine. I like hearing about it,'' Bruce encouraged, knowing that he was the only one she had told this much to. ''Does your mother know where you father was from?''

Willow shook her head sadly.

''Uh, no, she didn't. My father never told her the name of the realm, I don't know why. My mom was...she died when I was young, I didn't get to ask the important questions. I have no answers about how my whole existence. No reason to why I can do all of these things, no excuse as to why people treat me like a freak,'' she told him in a soft voice, only wanting him to hear.

Bruce wished he knew more about other realms, but he couldn't help her as much as he wanted to. The pain in her voice even made him sad, he didn't know how she carried all that weight on her shoulders.

''I just feel so alone,'' she told him.

''That's how I feel most of the time too,'' he nodded.

Neither of them noticed how their shoulders were now leaning together, supporting each other's weight. They didn't have to say anymore. However when Willow looked down to see Bruce's hand sitting by his side, she couldn't help putting hers on top, letting him know she was there for him too. She appreciated everything he had been doing for her, accepting her, and she wanted him to know that she was his friend.

Bruce smiled as he looked up at the sky, content with the moment they were in. It wasn't a big deal, in fact it was the smallest of gestures, but to him it meant more than he could say.

* * *

It was early the next morning when Natasha looked at the time, standing in the control room as she always did, looking over the computer screens. She was growing tired of nothing happening, of getting nowhere with the operation. Of course, she wanted to find the Tesseract, but her main concern right now was finding Agent Barton.

''When I first came to Earth, Loki's rage followed me here, and your people paid the price. And now again,'' Thor told Coulson as they stood over to the side, gazing out the window. ''In my youth I courted war,''

''War hadn't started yet,'' Fury walked in, making his way over to Thor. ''You think you can make Loki tell us where the Tesseract is?''

''I do not know. Loki's mind if far afield, it's not just power he craves, it's vengeance upon me. There's no pain that would prize his need from him,''

Natasha continued listening to their conversation, but it was clear Fury wasn't in the room to announce any progress. It was as if both Barton and the Tesseract had disappeared off the face of the Earth. Natasha was frustrated, but she didn't know what to do. She wanted to go talk to Loki, to make him tell her where they were and what he'd done to Barton, but she couldn't grow that desperate yet. Fury wouldn't allow it right now anyway, he was still being as patient as he could be. They knew it wasn't going to be easy or quick, but things weren't moving fast enough, and they were all on edge.

''There's been a signal,''

They all turned to see Bruce walking into the room, a device in his hands.

''Explain,'' Fury folded his arms, looking at Dr. Banner seriously.

Willow and Steve soon made it into the room as well, noticing the impromptu meeting taking place as news broke.

''The tracking...it picked up gamma signals in Brooklyn,''

''Let's go,'' Natasha nodded, immediately walking to Fury. ''I'll ready the jet,''

''Are you _sure _this was a gamma signal?''

''I'm sure,'' Bruce nodded. ''It's moving too. It might not be the Tesseract, the signals aren't strong enough, but it could be someone who's been infected by whatever's inside the scepter, and it looks a lot like the Tesseract's energy,''

Bruce looked over to Natasha, silently suggesting that the signals he was picking up could be Barton, however small the chance, but there was hope. Natasha walked out of the room and headed for the roof at a quick pace, preparing to ready the jet as Fury assembled a team to investigate.

''Captain, you'll go with Romanoff to investigate the situation,'' Fury told him. ''Dr. Banner, I want you to monitor the signals and situation from the lab, try and find what it is to give the team a heads up. Thor, you'll stay here, these people have more experience in the city and we need you to keep an eye on Loki, we have to consider this all may be apart of his plan. Where the hell is Stark?''

''He was in the lab when the signals came through...''

Fury sighed, knowing that Tony had taken off in his suit by himself, unable to wait for orders.

''Looks like you'll be meeting him there then,'' he told them.

''I'll go as well,'' Willow walked forward.

Everyone fell silent as they sensed an argument brewing.

''If this _is _people who are infected or whatever, they're going to fight. They're obviously brainwashed to follow Loki's orders and protect the Tesseract at all costs, and I have a feeling SHIELD is number one on their hit list. I have stealth, more than anyone else, and strength and abilities they won't expect, I can help. You brought me here to help, so just trust me,''

Fury didn't respond to her, he just folded his arms and thought to himself. He didn't want to let her go out into the field after he saw how powerful she was and how easily she could be set off, but he promised to trust her. Steve supported her decision, folding his arms behind her hoping that Fury would see he stood by her.

''Go,'' Fury nodded.

Willow left the room soon after, wanting to get to the jet before Fury changed his mind. She wore a suit just like Natasha's, although she was sure it's protection was unnecessary to her.

''If anything happens, we work together, just like before,'' Steve told her as they walked toward the back of the jet. ''I've got your back,''

''I got yours too,'' Willow assured him. ''Let's do this,''

Bruce walked back to the lab and immediately looked over the results again. He was sure it was a person, not the Tesseract, but he kept his eye on it just in case. They didn't know what to expect anymore. He hated that he couldn't go with the team to help, that he was stuck in the lab monitoring things as they actually fought to help, but he understood SHIELD's fears, he even shared them.

* * *

**Hey guys, I hope your still very interested in this story! For those who have followed my other stories, you'll know I absolutely hate writing actions sequences because I feel I'm so terrible at them, but hopefully I've grown a lot more in my writing and can make it a lot better! There'll be some action in the next chapter, but there'll obviously be a lot more in the future chapters. I'm intending to get to the whole drama and fighting part within a few more chapters, I just wanted to establish some character depth and connections. However all the action and stuff won't be for a few more chapters, but I hope you guys are still enjoying this story! Please review, with anything, seriously, I like hearing from you all. Thanks for reading :)**


	12. Chapter 12

The jet was fast getting to Brooklyn, but that didn't stop the ride there seeming to take hours. It was silent among the three of them, just like it had been the first time they were sent out together. However, this time it wasn't because they were uneasy around the 'alien'. Natasha worried about Clint, and so did Steve and Willow. If it was him, that meant they had to take action and fight against him since it was clear Loki's influence was going to make them hostile, but if it wasn't him, that just meant he was still lost out there somewhere, brainwashed.

''We're nearly there, hold on to something,'' Natasha told them as they stood in the back of the jet. ''We'll have to go on foot for a while,''

Flying over the city in a jet wouldn't be the best approach, especially if it scared away whatever they were tracking in the first place. It was easier to leave it out of the city in an old abandoned field hidden among the trees. They landed and quickly left, not wasting a second of time.

''We're here now, how are you signals?'' Natasha pressed her finger to her ear to speak with the helicarrier.

''Signals are still strong,'' Fury told her, reading from Bruce's lab where he was still tracing them. ''Approach with caution,''

Steve looked around each corner as they walked, knowing that in broad daylight like this, it was too easy to be targeted and spotted, especially since they weren't dressed casual. They stuck to the backstreets, behind all of the buildings until they reached a flight of stairs behind an old bar that seemed shut down, so they walked down, following the instructions and directions given.

Willow wanted to stop them, to suggest she go first into the basement in case there was more danger than they thought, but she knew Natasha wouldn't agree. It was a safer option, but if Clint Barton was down here somewhere, Natasha wanted to be the first one to find him. They were as quiet as they could manage as they stepped onto the ground of the basement, and Natasha drew her gun from her belt immediately when she noticed how dark it was inside. The room was still visible with dim light, but they were on edge as they looked around each corner.

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the corner. It sounded like a shoe twisting against the concrete, so they walked in direction of the noise. Steve prepared for someone to jump out and attack immediately, Natasha held her gun ahead of her and Willow braced herself for all the possibilities she could think of.

''Don't come any closer,''

It was a man's voice, but it wasn't Barton's. The voice was firm as if he was giving orders, not making a suggestion.

''Then step away from the corner,'' Natasha called back.

Within seconds, a man walked out into their view, his eyes glowing a bright blue color, much the same as the scepter they'd confiscated from Loki. This man was the signal. The Tesseract's power was within him, controlling his mind.

The was a brief moment of calmness as the man closed in on them as if he was acting out of surrender, but that all changed within a split second. He was stronger than they thought, the influence of the Tesseract encouraging his will to get away from them. The man pulled out a knife and used the hard, blunt end to slam against Steve's head, knocking him to the ground for a couple of seconds, but long enough to run.

Natasha fired her gun, but in the darkness of the basement, the bullet only grazed his thigh as he continued running. They were expecting a fight, but not a pursuit.

''He's going into the streets!'' Natasha shouted as she ran after him.

''Steve!'' Willow looked over to him, pulling himself up and rubbing the side of his head.

''I'm fine, go,'' he waved to her. ''I'll find you!''

Willow set off in chase behind Natasha, running faster until she caught up to her. They both had their eyes on the man ahead. He was dressed in a black coat and pants, fitting in with the people on the streets easily, making it a challenge to keep up with his movements through the crowd of people walking.

''I can't shoot here,'' Natasha speaks quickly as they continue running. ''We have to point him in the right direction, corner him!''

They continue running, attention fixed on the man, until they make it to a dead-end street. The man is running so fast that they assume he knows where he's going, but when he reaches the tall brick wall in front of him, he realizes there's no where else to go.

''You can't stop it!'' he shouted with a laugh. ''Nothing can stop it!''

Natasha moves in closer, her gun pointed toward the man, threatening him as she closes in. He doesn't seem scared, instead he looks entertained.

''Where are the others?'' she asks.

''We're everywhere,'' he tells her.

''Clint Barton, where is he?'' Natasha raises her voice in desperation. ''What have they done to him!''

The man chuckles louder, wheezing, and Willow can see Natasha's eyes growing angrier and angrier. She could kill him in a second, and she was prepared to. It's clear the man isn't going to tell Natasha anything about Clint, but he laughs at her need, knowing he's provoking her actions. But Natasha can't kill him, no matter how much she wants to, because this man is more useful than anything else they've got. He has answers, and given time, he'll provide them.

It's as if time slows down when Willow notices the man's hand reaching to his pocket, pulling out a knife and turning it against himself, prepared to die at his own hands instead of the assassin's.

''No!'' Willow shouts, knowing how important it is to keep him alive.

Without thinking twice, Willow runs forward, in front of Natasha's gun and searches for the man's hand to rip away the knife from his grasp, but she soon realizes she's walked right into his plan as if he'd mapped out the whole thing, reading her like a book. The initial piercing of her skin makes her gasp for air, the knife embedding itself in her abdomen, and although the pain is searing through her entire body, she's overridden with anger and embarrassment that she'd been so foolish.

Natasha act quickly, hitting the man over the back of his head with heavy force with the gun, knocking him unconscious. He's all but forgotten seconds later when she rushes to Willow who has now fallen to her knees, staring down at the knife sticking out of her body, watching as her blood spread through her suit and puddled on the ground.

''We need an emergency medical team here immediately,'' Natasha pressed her finger to her ear, informing Fury. ''Willow's down, get them here as soon as possible, her condition is critical,''

Willow hears what Natasha' saying, but none of it gets through to her. All she can think about is that she was getting weaker every second, the blood loss taking it's toll and the pain numbing her body until it's all too much.

''Willow!'' Natasha catches her as she falls back. ''Keep your eyes open, stay awake, okay?''

Steve runs into the scene and sees what's happened, and he can't help feeling horrible that he wasn't there to try and prevent it, but there was nothing he could do. Willow was always going to step in and stop the man from taking his own life, but now she had to deal with the fallout; saving her own.

* * *

Bruce yawned as he sat in his lab, looking over the screen where the signals were coming from. Fury was meant to return a while ago with news on what was happening, but just as Bruce walked over to the door, planning to go find the director, he's pushed out of the way by nurses as they wheel a bed past. He can see the blood before he sees her face. Apparently no one thought of informing Bruce about what happened.

''Oh my god,'' he gasps worriedly as his eyebrow crease together. ''What the hell happened out there?''

Following behind the bed, Bruce caught up with Natasha and immediately demanded answers. His heart began beating faster with each detail he gained, growing angry at the situation. They were meant to have investigated the signal, it wasn't supposed to be deadly.

Fury rushed over, assessing the monitors hooked up to Willow's body and the tubes that were inserted into her. The beeps of the machine assured them all she was still alive, which helped considering her body was drained of color and signs of life.

''Keep her alive, you understand?'' Fury told the doctor as Willow was wheeled into the medical bay operating room. ''I don't care what you have to do or use, but you will keep her alive.''

The doctor nodded and closed the door, immediately beginning the necessary procedure to save Willow's life. The whole team was left in silence, standing around the door to the medical unit. No one knew what to say, everything had happened so quickly. Natasha was used to people getting hurt, but that didn't stop her worrying for their life. Steve kept shaking his head as if he was having an internal argument with himself over what happened, guilt overwhelming him, and Bruce just stood there in shock, a mixture of emotions.

The man they captured was taken to a separate detention cell away from Loki, still unconscious. Hopefully when he woke up, he could give them some answers. But, even though today's mission had been completed, none of them cared about it for the moment.

''She can't die,'' Steve finally spoke up. ''Not after what she did for us out there,''

Fury had noticed what she had done. She threw herself into danger for SHIELD, because she knew that man was valuable and his death would mean their loss of answers and progress. He knew what it meant, but he feared his realization had come too late. Trust.

Tony Stark then rounded the corner into the corridor, his expression changing once he saw them gathered and looking worried. They had all forgotten that Tony was even out there. He was nowhere to be seen in Brooklyn, which made them all wonder where he was this whole time.

''I found where they were hiding out,'' he explained. ''I knew you guys had that other guy covered, so I moved on and tracked where he came from, but it was cleared out by the time I got there. I tested a few things, looked around. Can someone tell me what's going on because you all look like someone just died,''

Tony was never one with words, and he had a remarkable talent in not being able to sense the mood of the moment. Insensitive, really, but when he was met with silence instead of the usual eye rolling, he feared the worst.

* * *

It was night before anyone heard from the medical unit on Willow's condition. There were sighs of relief when they were informed that the deep wound on her abdomen had been stitched up and she was now resting in recovery. It was discovered that her body healed quicker than a normal human, making the recovery stage a lot faster, but the good news didn't last long. Willow was relying on a machine to breathe for her because her body was so weak, and the doctors couldn't find anything to help her.

''She's not human,'' he explained, looking at Fury. ''We've been doing tests on her blood for a while now, trying to find matches and compatibility, but we can't substitute anything. Her blood is too foreign, and she's lot so much, we don't know when her body will gain enough energy to heal itself,''

''Keep looking,'' Fury instructed. ''Anything to help her, don't stop looking,''

''We won't sir,''

The doctor walks away and leaves the team in silence. They all look around at one another, trying to figure out what to do next. They didn't expect they'd be facing this situation so soon. A member of their team fighting for their life, it wasn't supposed to happen, at least not yet.

''I can have Jarvis take a look at her blood sample,'' Tony offered. ''No offence but my technology is way better, it wouldn't hurt to look for something that could help her,''

Fury nodded his approval.

''Anything helps,'' he told him. ''I suggest you all get some sleep, there's nothing else to be done here. We'll resume tomorrow,''

The team leaves the table in silence. Not only are they worried, but the stress of the day had exhausted them beyond words. As much as they didn't want to act like nothing was happening, they couldn't help wanting to close their eyes and skip to the next day where things would hopefully be better.

Bruce, however, didn't go to bed. He couldn't sleep most nights anyway, but tonight he knew there was no chance. When everyone had left, he quietly made his way over to the medical unit and into Willow's recovery room.

''You can't be in here,'' one of the nurses shakes her head. ''She needs to rest,''

''I won't bother her,'' he assures the woman. ''I just don't want her to be alone,''

The nurse doesn't protest once she sees that Bruce simply wants to sit next to her bed, and she walks off after reminding him again that she is in the early stages of recovery, but he can barely register her voice.

His friend, the only person he felt he could use that title with, was lying in the bed before him as a machine breathed for her. Her abdomen was swollen from the wound and her body was still so pale, it hurt him to continue staring. He reached up and grabbed her hand in his, giving it a comforting squeeze in case she was awake, but she was far from conscious.

''You can do this, Willow,'' he whispered. ''You're a superhuman,''

* * *

**So I finished that chapter really cheesy didn't I! Thought I'd throw in a teeny bit of drama. Like I said, this isn't following the Avengers movie plot exactly, so things are still going to move quite slowly in terms of the Tesseract and Loki, but I hope you guys still enjoy it. I'll try not to drag on this whole fight for life that Willow has going on, but I think it's essential in establishing many things, as you'll see in the next chapters. PLEASE REVIEW, and thanks for reading! xx**


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